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VOLUMES  IN  THE 

EDITED    BY   ESTELLE    M.   HURLL 

1.  RAPHAEL.  7.  GREEK  SCULPTURE. 

2.  REMBRANDT.  "    8.  TITIAN. 

3.  MICHELANGELO.  9.  LANDSEER. 

4.  MILLET.  10.  CORREGGIO.    \ 

5.  REYNOLDS.  .   II.  TUSCAN   SCULPTURE. 

6.  MURILLO.  iA1.  VAN   DYCK. 

PUBLISHED  BY 
HOUGHTON    MIFFLIN    COMPANY 

BOSTON  AND   NEW   YORK 


/ 


'J 


Alinari,  Photo.  John  Andrew  &  Son,  So. 

MICHELANGELO  BUONAROTTI  (attributed  to  Bugiardini) 
Uffizi  Gallery,  Florence 


(Masterpiece*  of  (2Uf 


MICHELANGELO 

A  COLLECTION   OF  FIFTEEN  PICTURES 

AND  A  PORTRAIT  OF  THE  MASTER 

WITH  INTRODUCTION  AND 

INTERPRETATION 

BY 

ESTELLE  M.  HURLL 


BOSTON  AND  NEW  YORK 
HOUGHTON  MIFFLIN  COMPANY 
<&fo  tttoerjnbe  prej#  Cambrt&0e 


All        ::U AO    N6?^3 

I 


COPYRIGHT,  I90O,  BY  HOUGHTON,  MIFFLIN  &  CO. 
ALL   RIGHTS   RESERVED 


PREFACE 

In  making  a  collection  of  prints  from  the  works  of 
Michelangelo,  it  is  impossible  to  secure  any  wide  variety, 
either  in  subject  or  method  of  treatment.  We  are  dealing 
here  with  a  master  whose  import  is  always  serious,  and 
whose  artistic  individuality  is  strongly  impressed  on  all 
his  works,  either  in  sculpture  or  painting.  Our  selec- 
tions represent  his  best  work  in  both  arts.  These  are 
arranged,  not  in  chronological  order,  but  in  a  way  which 
will  lead  the  student  from  the  subjects  most  familiar  and 
easily  understood  to  those  which  are  more  abstract  and 
difficult. 

ESTELLE  M.  HURLL. 

New  Bedford,  Mass. 
January,  1900. 


CONTENTS  AND  LIST  OF  PICTUEES 


Portrait  of  Michelangelo.    Attributed  to  Bugiardini. 

Frontispiece. 

PAGB 

INTRODUCTION 

i.  On  Michelangelo's  Character  as  an  Artist    .    .    .  vii 

ii.   On  Books  of  Reference x 

m.  Historical  Directory  of  the  Works  of  Art  in  this 

Collection xii 

rv.  Collateral  Readings  from  Literature xv 

v.  Outline  Table  of  the  Principal  Events  in  Michel- 
angelo's Life xviii 

vi.  Some  of  Michelangelo's   Famous  Italian  Contem- 
poraries    xx 

I.  MADONNA  AND  CHILD 1 

H.  DAVID 7 

III.  CUPID       13 

IV.  MOSES       19 

*V.  THE  HOLY  FAMILY 25 

VI.  THE  PIETl 31 

VII.  CHRIST  TRIUMPHANT       37 

*  VIII.  THE  CREATION  OF  MAN 43 

*  IX.  JEREMIAH 49 

t  X.   DANIEL 55 

•  XL  THE  DELPHIC  SIBYL 61 

.  *XII.  THE  CUM^AN  SIBYL 67 

XIII.  LORENZO  DE'  MEDICI 73 

XIV.  TOMB  OF  GIULIANO  DE'  MEDICI 79 

*  XV.   CENTRAL  FIGURES  FROM  THE  LAST  JUDGMENT    .  85 

XVI.   PORTRAIT  OF  MICHELANGELO  (See  Frontispiece)     .    .  91 

PRONOUNCING  VOCABULARY  OF   PROPER  NAMES  AND 

FOREIGN  WORDS 95 


Note  :  All  the  pictures  with  the  exception  of  the  Cupid  were  made 
from  photographs  hy  Fratelli  Alinari.  The  Cupid  was  photographed  from 
the  statue  in  the  South  Kensington  Museum,  London. 


INTRODUCTION 


I.  ON  MICHELANGELO'S  CHARACTER  AS  AN  ARTIST. 

Michelangelo's  place  in  the  world  of  art  is  altogether 
unique.  His  supremacy  is  acknowledged  by  all,  but  is 
understood  by  a  few  only.  In  the  presence  of  his  works 
none  can  stand  unimpressed,  yet  few  dare  to  claim  any 
intimate  knowledge  of  his  art.  The  quality  so  vividly 
described  in  the  Italian  word  terribilita  is  his  predomi- 
nant trait.  He  is  one  to  awe  rather  than  to  attract,  to 
overwhelm  rather  than  to  delight.  The  spectator  must 
needs  exclaim  with  humility,  "  Such  knowledge  is  too 
wonderful  for  me;  it  is  high,  I  cannot  attain  unto  it." 
Yet  while  Michelangelo  can  never  be  a  popular  artist  in 
the  ordinary  sense  of  the  word,  the  powerful  influence 
which  he  exercises  seems  constantly  increasing.  Year  by 
year  there  are  more  who,  drawn  by  the  strange  fascina- 
tion of  his  genius,  seek  to  read  the  meaning  of  his  art. 

His  subjects  are  all  profoundly  serious  in  intention. 
Life  was  no  holiday  to  this  strenuous  spirit;  it  was  a 
stern  conflict  with  the  powers  of  darkness  in  which  such 
heroes  as  David  and  Moses  were  needed.  Like  the  old 
Hebrew  prophets,  the  artist  poured  out  his  soul  in  a 
vehement  protest  against  evil,  and  a  stirring  call  to  right- 
eousness. 

Considered  both  as  a  sculptor  and  a  painter,  Michel- 
angelo's one  vehicle  of  expression  was  the  human  body. 
His  works  are  "  form-poems,"  through  which  he  uttered 


\\ 


viii  MICHELANGELO 

his  message  to  mankind.     As  he  writes  in  one  of  his  own 
sonnets, 

"  Nor  hath  God  deigned  to  show  himself  elsewhere 
More  clearly  than  in  human  forms  sublime." 

In  his  art,  says  the  critic  Symonds,  "a  well-shaped 
hand,  or  throat,  or  head,  a  neck  superbly  poised  on  an 
athletic  chest,  the  sway  of  the  trunk  above  the  hips,  the 
starting  of  the  muscles  on  the  flank,  the  tendons  of  the 
ankle,  the  outline  of  the  shoulder  when  the  arm  is  raised, 
the  backward  bending  of  the  loins,  the  curves  of  a  woman's 
breast,  the  contours  of  a  body  careless  in  repose  or  strained 
for  action,  were  all  words  pregnant  with  profoundest 
meaning,  whereby  fit  utterance  might  be  given  to  thoughts 
that  raise  man  near  to  God." 

Learning  his  first  lessons  in  art  of  the  Greeks,  he  soon 
possessed  himself  of  the  great  principles  of  classic  sculp- 
ture. Then  he  boldly  struck  out  his  own  path ;  his  was  a 
spirit  to  lead,  not  to  follow.  With  the  subtle  Greek  sense 
of  line  and  form,  he  united  an  entirely  new  motif.  In 
contrast  to  the  ideal  of  repose  which  was  the  leading 
canon  of  the  Greeks,  his  chosen  ideal  was  one  of  action. 
Moreover,  he  invariably  fixed  upon  some  decisive  moment 
in  the  action  he  had  to  represent,  a  moment  which  sug- 
gests both  the  one  preceding  and  the  one  following,  and 
which  gives  us  the  whole  story  in  epitome.  Thus  in  the 
David  we  see  preparation,  aim,  and  action.  It  was  a  far 
cry  from  the  elegant  calm  of  the  Greek  god  to  the  restless 
energy  of  this  rugged  youth. 

Even  with  seated  figures  he  followed  the  same  principle. 
Moses  and  the  Duke  Giuliano  are  ready  to  rise  to  their 
feet  if  need  be.  In  his  frescoes  we  again  find  the  same 
motif,  —  Adam  rising  to  his  feet  in  obedience  to  the 
Creator's  summons,  and  Christ  the  Judge  sweeping  asun* 
der  the  multitudes. 

In  his  love  of  action  and  his  passion  for  the  human 


INTRODUCTION  ix 

form  lay  the  elements  of  his  art  most  easily  lending  them- 
selves to  exaggeration.  That  the  master  did  indeed  per- 
mit himself  to  be  carried  beyond  due  limits  in  these 
matters  is  seen  by  comparing  the  grandeur  of  the  Sistine 
ceiling  with  the  mannerisms  of  the  Last  Judgment.  The 
interval  between  was  "  the  time  of  his  best  technical  and 
spiritual  creativeness,"  when  he  produced  the  statues  of 
the  Sacristy  of  S.  Lorenzo. 

It  was  characteristic  of  Michelangelo's  impetuous  nature 
to  spend  his  enthusiasm  upon  the  early  stages  of  his 
work,  and  leave  it  unfinished.  This  unfinished  effect  of 
many  of  his  marbles  seems  to  bring  us  in  closer  touch 
with  his  methods  as  a  sculptor.  Nor  is  a  rough  surface 
here  and  there  inharmonious  with  the  rugged  character 
of  his  conceptions.  Moreover,  as  a  critic1  has  pointed 
out,  the  polished  and  rough  portions  enhance  each  other, 
giving  a  variety  in  the  light  and  shadow  which  is  pictorial 
in  effect. 

v  To  a  man  of  Michelangelo's  austere  temperament, 
intensely  masculine  in  his  predilections,  the  beauty  of 
womanhood  was  not  fully  revealed.  His  sibyls  can  scarcely 
be  counted  as  women;  they  belong  to  a  world  of  their 
own,  neither  human  nor  divine.  It  was  only  in  his  few 
Madonnas  that  we  can  trace  his  feminine  ideal,  an  ideal 
noble  and  dignified,  rather  than  beautiful.  The  Madonna 
of  the  bas-relief  is  proud  rather  than  tender,  the  Virgin 
of  the  Pieta  is  grand  rather  than  lovely.  These  were 
works  of  his  youth.  Later  in  life,  when  he  had  known 
the  blessing  of  a  good  woman's  friendship,  he  developed 
a  new  ideal  in  the  gentle  and  delicate  womanhood  of  the 
Virgin  of  the  Last  Judgment. 

Michelangelo  has  been  compared  with  two  great  mas- 
ters of  dissimilar  arts,  Milton  and  Beethoven.     There  are 

1  See  notes  on  the  Life  of  Michelangelo  Buonarotti  in  the  Blash- 
field-Hopkins  edition  of  Vasari. 


x  MICHELANGELO 

striking  points  of  similarity  in  the  men  themselves,  in 
stern  uprightness  of  character,  in  scorn  of  the  low  and 
trivial,  in  lofty  idealism.  The  art  of  all  three  is  too  far 
above  the  common  level  to  be  popular;  it  requires  too 
much  thinking  to  attract  the  superficial.  In  poetry,  in 
music,  and  in  sculpture,  all  three  utter  the  profoundest 
truths  of  human  experience,  expressed  in  grand  and  sol- 
emn harmonies. 

II.   ON  BOOKS  OF  REFERENCE. 

The  original  materials  for  the  study  of  Michelangelo's 
life  and  work  are  the  two  biographies  by  his  contempo- 
raries, Vasari  and  Condivi.  Vasari's  was  the  first  of 
these  (1550),  and  like  the  other  portions  of  his  "Lives  of 
the  Painters "  contained  many  inaccuracies.  It  was  to 
correct  these  that  Condivi  published  his  little  book  a  few 
years  later.  This  rival  effort  aroused  Vasari's  wrath,  and 
after  Michelangelo's  death  he  issued  an  enlarged  edition 
of  his  own  book,  unscrupulously  incorporating  all  that 
was  valuable  in  Condivi's  work,  and  adding  thereto  many 
reminiscences  of  the  master's  life.  The  fame  of  Vasari's 
monumental  work  caused  Condivi's  little  book  to  be  en- 
tirely forgotten  for  long  years,  and  it  has  been  one  of  the 
tasks  of  modern  scholarship  to  restore  it  to  its  true  place. 
Even  now,  however,  there  is  no  available  form  of  Con- 
divi's biography  for  American  readers,  though  Vasari's 
"  Lives "  in  Mrs.  Foster's  translation  is  found  in  most 
libraries.  The  latest  edition  of  Vasari,  published  in  1897, 
contains  annotations  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  E.  H.  Blashfield, 
and  A.  A.  Hopkins,  which  correct  all  the  statements  in 
the  light  of  recent  authorities. 

Far  more  valuable  even  than  the  early  biographies  is 
the  mass  of  existing  documents  of  the  Buonarotti  family, 
including  contracts,  letters,  poems,  and  memoranda,  and 
containing  data  for  a  full  and  exact  biography  of  the  mas- 


INTRODUCTION  xi 

ter.  Unfortunately,  however,  this  great  storehouse  of 
material  has  been  for  all  these  centuries  a  sealed  treasure, 
given  up  only  little  by  little,  to  successive  generations  of 
scholars.  When  Hermann  Grimm  wrote  his  celebrated 
"  Life  of  Michael  Angelo "  (in  1860),  the  only  original 
material  accessible  to  him  was  the  collection  of  letters  in 
the  British  Museum.  His  volumes  are  still  read  with 
interest  and  profit,  though  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  they 
should  be  reprinted  without  any  editorial  comments  to 
connect  formerly  received  opinions  with  later  conclusions. 
John  S.  Harford's  "  Life  of  Michael  Angelo  Buonarotti " 
was  published  at  about  the  same  time  as  Grimm's  work, 
that  is,  in  1857.  It  was  in  two  volumes,  and  contained 
translations  of  many  of  Michelangelo's  poems,  as  well  as 
material  about  Savonarola,  Vittoria  Colonna,  and  Raphael. 
The  work  is  found  in  the  older  libraries,  and  is  well  worth 
studying,  as  the  latter  portion  is  still  valuable  for  all  that 
refers  to  the  architecture  of  St.  Peter's. 

Signor  Gotti's  "  Vita,"  in  1875,  was  the  first  to  profit 
to  any  considerable  degree  by  documentary  researches. 
The  conclusions  of  this  book  are  best  known  to  the  Eng- 
lish-reading public  through  Charles  Heath  Wilson's  "  Life 
and  Works  of  Michelangelo  Buonarotti "  (1876  and  1881), 
consisting  of  compilations  from  Gotti,  to  which  are  added 
original  investigations  of  the  Sistine  frescoes,  which  are 
very  valuable. 

More  privileged  than  any  of  his  predecessors  was  John 
Addington  Symonds,  who,  by  special  favor  of  the  Italian 
government,  was  allowed  to  examine  the  Buonarotti  col- 
lection in  Florence,  so  long  debarred  to  others.  His 
"  Life  of  Michelangelo  Buonarotti  "  is  therefore  unique  in 
being,  as  the  sub-title  announces,  "  based  on  studies  in  the 
archives  of  the  Buonarotti  family  at  Florence."  It  was 
published  in  1893  in  two  large,  finely  illustrated  volumes, 
and  is  taken  as  the  latest  authoritative  word  on  the  sub* 


xii  MICHELANGELO 

ject,  a  word  singularly  independent  of  others'  conclusions, 
and  influenced  by  an  artistic  and  literary  nature  of  rare 
sensitiveness.  The  work  contains  a  useful  list  of  Michel- 
angelo's works. 

To  those  who  wish  briefer  notices  of  Michelangelo's 
life  and  work  than  any  of  these  full  biographies  are 
recommended  the  chapters  on  Michelangelo  in  Kugler's 
"  Handbook  of  the  Italian  Schools,"  in  Mrs.  Jameson's 
"Memoirs  of  the  Italian  Painters,"  in  Mrs.  Oliphant's 
"Makers  of  Florence,"  and  in  Symonds's  volume  on 
"  Fine  Arts  "  in  the  series  "  Renaissance  in  Italy." 

To  understand  more  fully  the  character  of  the  man 
Michelangelo,  the  student  should  read  his  sonnets.  There 
is  a  complete  collection  translated  by  J.  A.  Symonds, 
while  both  Wordsworth  and  Longfellow  have  translated 
a  few. 

The  life  of  Michelangelo  has  furnished  material  for 
two  long  poems  by  American  writers,  —  Longfellow's 
drama,  and  the  poem  by  Stuart  Sterne.  The  former, 
which  is  annotated,  is  a  well-balanced  study  of  the  great 
artist's  career  and  ideals. 

III.  HISTORICAL  DIRECTORY  OF  THE  WORKS  OF 
ART  IN  THIS  COLLECTION. 

Portrait  frontispiece.  An  oil  painting  in  The  Hall  of  the 
Portraits  of  Old  Masters,  Uffizi  Gallery,  Florence.  The  au- 
thorship of  the  painting  is  not  certainly  known.  Symonds  says 
that  it  "  may  perhaps  be  ascribed  with  some  show  of  probabil- 
ity to  Bugiardini.  Bugiardini  was  a  friend  of  Michelangelo's 
youth  and  a  fellow  student  in  the  gardens  of  the  Medici.  That 
later  in  life  he  painted  a  portrait  of  his  distinguished  friend  we 
know  from  Vasari.  Vasari  tells  us  that  the  portrait  showed  a 
peculiarity  in  the  right  eye,  and  this  fact  lends  probability  to 
the  identification  of  the  Uffizi  portrait  with  Bugiardini's  work. 

1.  Madonna  and  Child,  an  unfinished  bas-relief  medallion, 
made,  according  to  Vasari,  during  Michelangelo's  residence  in 


INTRODUCTION  xiii 

Florence  in  1501-1505.     It  was  made  for  Bartolommeo  Pitti. 
It  is  now  in  the  National  Museum  (Bargello),  Florence. 

2.  David,  a  statue  made  from  a  block  of  Carrara  marble 
which  had  been  spoiled  by  an  unskilled  sculptor.  After  it  had 
lain  useless  in  Florence  for  a  century,  a  sculptor  applied  to  the 
board  of  works  of  the  cathedral  for  permission  to  use  it.  The 
board  consulted  Michelangelo  and  offered  him  the  marble.  He 
undertook  to  cut  from  it  a  single  figure  which  would  exactly 
use  the  block.  The  contract  to  make  the  statue  of  David  was 
drawn  up  in  1501,  and  the  statue  was  completed  in  1504. 
Forty  men  were  employed  four  days  to  remove  it  from  the 
cathedral  works  to  the  Piazza  della  Signoria,  where  it  was 
placed  on  the  platform  of  the  palace  (Palazzo  Vecchio),  remain- 
ing in  the  open  air  more  than  three  centuries.  The  weather 
was  beginning  to  injure  it,  and  it  was  removed  in  1873  to  the 
Academy  of  Fine  Arts  in  Florence,  where  it  now  stands. 

3.  Cupid.  Symonds  gives  the  following  account  of  the  statue 
in  the  "  Life  of  Michelangelo,"  published  in  1893  :  "  Discovered 
some  forty  years  ago,  hidden  away  in  the  cellars  of  the  Gual- 
fonda  (Ruccellai)  Gardens,  Florence,  by  Professor  Milanesi  and 
the  famous  Florentine  sculptor,  Santarelli.  On  a  cursory  exam- 
ination they  both  declared  it  to  be  a  genuine  Michelangelo. 
The  left  arm  was  broken,  the  right  hand  damaged,  and  the  hair 
had  never  received  the  sculptor's  final  touches.  Santarelli  re- 
stored the  arm,  and  the  Cupid  passed  by  purchase  into  the  pos- 
session of  the  English  nation."  It  is  now  in  the  Museum  of 
South  Kensington. 

4.  Moses,  a  statue  on  the  tomb  commemorative  of  Julius  II.,1 
in  the  church  of  S.  Pietro  in  Vincoli,  Rome.  At  the  beginning 
of  Michelangelo's  connection  with  Julius  II.,  he  made  plans 
for  a  magnificent  monumental  tomb  for  this  pope,  to  be  orna- 
mented with  more  than  forty  statues  and  to  be  of  great  size 
(34£  X  23  feet).  The  fickleness  of  the  Pope  caused  a  contin- 
ual series  of  disappointments  in  the  progress  of  the  work,  which 
was  finally  abandoned  for  the  frescoes  of  the  Sistine  Chapel. 
After  the  death  of  the  Pope,  his  executors  were  even  less  zeal* 

1  The  Pope,  Julius  II.,  is  buried  at  St.  Peter's. 


xiv  MICHELANGELO 

ous  for  the  completion  of  the  tomb.  A  succession  of  contracts 
were  made  and  broken,  each  one  reducing  the  size  and  impor- 
tance of  the  design.  The  artist  was  continually  in  demand  for 
other  work.  Finally,  in  1542,  to  leave  him  free  for  the  ser- 
vices of  the  Pope,  the  completion  of  the  tomb  was  put  into  other 
hands.  The  statue  of  Moses,  with  those  of  Rachel  and  Leah, 
is  all  that  Michelangelo  contributed  to  a  work  which  had 
occupied  his  thoughts  for  nearly  forty  years.  The  setting  of 
the  Moses  is  in  every  way  exceedingly  unfavorable  to  a  proper 
appreciation  of  the  work. 

5.  Holy  Family,  a  tempera  painting  belonging  to  the  Flor- 
entine period  1501-1505,  and  painted  for  Angelo  Doni.  It  is 
now  in  the  Uffizi  Gallery,  Florence. 

6.  The  Pieta,  a  marble  group  executed  by  the  order  of  the 
Cardinal  di  San  Dionigi  according  to  a  contract  drawn  up  Au- 
gust 28,  1498.  It  was  placed  in  the  old  basilica  of  St.  Peter's 
(Rome),  in  a  chapel  dedicated  to  Our  Lady  of  the  Fever  (Ma- 
donna della  Febbre).  In  the  present  church  of  St.  Peter's  it 
occupies  a  side  chapel,  to  which  it  gives  its  name,  where  it  is 
placed  so  high  that  it  is  impossible  to  see  it  well,  and  where  its 
beauty  is  disfigured  by  the  bronze  cherubs  fastened  above,  hold- 
ing a  crown  over  the  Virgin's  head. 

7.  Christ  Triumphant,  a  marble  statue  ordered  by  Bernardo 
Cencio  (a  canon  of  St.  Peter's),  Mario  Scappuci,  and  Metello 
Varj  dei  Porcari  for  the  church  of  S.  Maria  sopra  Minerva, 
Rome,  where  it  still  stands.  The  deed  was  executed  in  1514, 
specifying  that  the  statue  should  be  of  marble,  "life  sized, 
naked,  erect,  with  a  cross  in  his  arms."  It  appears  from 
Michelangelo's  correspondence  that  the  work  was  finished  by 
apprentices,  first  by  Pietro  Urbano,  who  did  so  badly  that  he 
was  discharged  and  replaced  by  Federigo  Frizzi.  It  was  com- 
pleted in  1521,  when  Michelangelo  offered  to  make  a  new  statue 
if  it  was  not  satisfactory.  Varj,  however,  declared  that  the 
sculptor  had  "  already  made  what  could  not  be  surpassed  and 
was  incomparable,"  so  the  statue  was  placed  in  position. 

8-12.  The  Creation  of  Man,  Jeremiah,  Daniel,  The  Del- 
phic Sibyl,  the  Cumcean  Sibyl,  frescoes  on  the  ceiling  of  the 
Sistine  Chapel,  Rome,  begun  in  1508  at  the  order  of  the  Pope 


INTRODUCTION 


xv 


Julius  II.  Michelangelo  undertook  the  work  reluctantly,  as 
sculpture  was  his  chosen  art.  The  architect  Bramante  first 
made  a  scaffolding  for  the  work,  so  clumsily  constructed  that 
Michelangelo  replaced  it  by  one  of  his  own  invention.  Several 
Florentine  painters  were  engaged  as  assistants,  but,  failing  to 
satisfy  the  painter,  returned.  Julius  II.  often  visited  the  chapel 
during  the  work,  climbing  to  the  scaffolding  to  see  how  it  pro- 
gressed. Impatient  to  see  it,  he  gave  orders  to  have  the  ceiling 
uncovered  when  but  half  finished.  The  first  uncovering  took 
place  November  1,  1509.  The  work  was  completed  October, 
1512. 

13-14.  Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  Tomb  of  Giuliano  de'  Medici, 
marble  tombs  first  projected  in  1520  or  1521,  during  the  pon- 
tificate of  Leo  X.  (formerly  Giovanni  de'  Medici).  The  order 
was  renewed  by  Clement  VII.,  another  Medici  pope,  in  1523. 
The  work  was  carried  on  intermittently  a  number  of  years 
during  which  occurred  the  revolution,  siege,  and  recapture  of 
Florence.  From  1530-1533  Michelangelo  carried  them  to  the 
point  of  completion  in  which  they  are  now  seen :  they  were 
never  fully  finished.  The  identity  of  the  tombs  was  long  a  mat- 
ter of  doubt.  Though  Vasari  had  called  the  helmeted  figure 
Lorenzo  and  the  other  Giuliano,  there  were  critics,  notably 
Grimm,  who  took  the  opposite  view.  In  1875  the  sarcophagus 
of  the  helmeted  figure  was  opened  and  evidence  found  proving 
it  to  be  unquestionably  the  tomb  of  Lorenzo,  as  Vasari  had  said. 
Both  tombs  remain  as  originally  placed  in  the  new  sacristy  of 
the  church  of  San  Lorenzo,  Florence. 

15.  Central  Figures  of  the  Last  Judgment,  a  fresco  paint- 
ing on  the  wall  of  the  Sistine  Chapel,  executed  by  the  order 
of  the  Pope  Paul  III.,  who  in  1535  appointed  Michelangelo 
chief  architect,  sculptor,  and  painter  at  the  Vatican.  The  work 
occupied  several  years  and  was  completed  in  1541. 

IV.    COLLATERAL  READINGS  FROM  LITERATURE. 

IN  CONNECTION  WITH  THE  SEVERAL  WORKS  HERE  REPRESENTED. 

The  Madonna  and  Child  and  the  Holy  Family  :  — 

The  Latin  hymn,  Mater  Speciosa,  by  Jacobus  de  Bene* 
dictis,  translated  by  Dr.  Neale. 


xvi  MICHELANGELO 

David  :  — 

Arthur  Penrhyn  Stanley.     History  of  the  Jewish  Church, 

Part  II.     Lectures  XXII.-XXV. :  David. 
Robert  Browning.     Poem,  Saul. 
Psalm  Twenty-three. 
Cupid :  — 

Richard  Crashaw.     Poem,  Cupid's  Cryer;    out  of   the 

Greek. 
Edmund  Gosse.     Poem,  Cupido  Crucifixus. 
Moses :  — 

Arthur  Penrhyn  Stanley.     History  of  the  Jewish  Church, 

Part  I,  Lectures  V.-VIII. :  Moses. 
Mrs.  A.  D.  T.  Whitney.     The  Open  Mystery :  A  Read- 
ing of  the  Mosaic  Story,  Part  IV. 
The  Song  of  Moses  :  Deuteronomy,  chapter  xxxii. 
The  Prayer  of  Moses  :  Psalm  Ninety. 
Cecil     Frances     Alexander.       Poem,    The    Burial    of 

Moses. 
Sonnet   on   the  statue  of   Moses  by  Giovanni   Battista 
Felice  Zappi,  translated  by  J.  A.  Symonds  (in  Life  of 
Michelangelo  Buonarotti). 
The  Pieta :  — 

Latin  hymn,  Stabat  Mater,  by  Jacobus  de  Benedictis, 
translated  by  Lord  Lindsay,  by  General  Dix  or  by 
Dr.  Coles. 
Christ  Triumphant :  — 

Henryk  Sienkiewicz.     Quo  Vadis,  chapter  lxix. 
Frescoes  of  the  Sistine  Chapel,  general  impressions  :  — 

Symonds.      Renaissance  in  Italy,  volume  on  the  Fine 

Arts,  chapter  viii. :  Life  of  Michael  Angelo. 
Taine.     Italy,  book  iii.,  chapter  ix.  :  Michael  Angelo. 
Andersen.      The  Improvisatore,  chapter  xii. :    Allegri's 
Miserere,  in  the  Sistine  Chapel. 
The  Creation  of  Man  :  — 

Milton.     Paradise  Lost,  book  VIII.,  lines  500-528. 
Jeremiah  :  — 

Lucy  Larcom.     Poem,  The  Weeping  Prophet. 


INTRODUCTION 


xvu 


Daniel :  — 

Sir  Edwin  Arnold.     Poem,  The  Feast  of  Belshazzar. 
The  Delphic  Sibyl :  — 

Lord   Houghton.     Delphi,  a   poem  included    in   Long- 
fellow's collection  of    Poems  of    Places,   volume  on 
Greece. 
The  Cumaean  Sibyl :  — 

Virgil.     iEneid,  sixth  book,  translated  by  C.  P.  Cranch 
or  by  John  Conington. 
The  Medicean  Tombs,  general  impressions  :  — 

Symonds.     The    Renaissance  in   Italy,  volume    on  the 

Fine  Arts,  chapter  viii. :  Life  of  Michael  Angelo. 
Taine.      Italy,   book   iii.,    chapter  v. :    The  Florentine 

School  of  Art. 
Mrs.  Oliphant.     The  Makers  of  Florence,  chapter  xv. : 

Michael  Angelo. 
Rogers.     Italy  :  poem  on  Florence. 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici :  — 

Milton.     II  Penseroso. 
Tomb  of  Giuliano  de'  Medici :  — 

Charles  Algernon  Swinburne.     Poem,  In  San  Lorenzo. 
The  Last  Judgment :  — 

The   Latin    hymn,  Dies  Irae,  by  Thomas   de   Celano, 

translated  by  General  John  E.  Dix. 
Alexander  Dumas.     Les  Trois  Maitres  :  Description  of 
Last  Judgment,  translated  by  Esther  Singleton  in  the 
compilation     Great     Pictures     described    by    Great 
Writers. 
The  portrait  of  Michelangelo  :  — 

C.  P.  Cranch.  Michael  Angelo  Buonarotti,  a  poem  read 
at  a  celebration  of  the  400th  anniversary  of  his  birth, 
included  in  Longfellow's  collection  of  Poems  of  Places, 
volume  on  Italy. 


xviii  MICHELANGELO 

V.    OUTLINE  TABLE   OF  THE   PRINCIPAL  EVENTS  IN 
MICHELANGELO'S  LIFE. 
(Based  on  Symonds*  Life  of  Michelangelo  Buonarotti,  to  which  the 
accompanying  notes  on  pages  refer.) 

1475.     Born  at  Caprese,  March  6  (p.  4). 

1488.     Apprenticed  to  Domenico  and  David  Ghirlandajo,  April 

1  (p.  12). 
1489-1492.     Under  the  patronage  of  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent, 

in  the  Casa  Medici  (p.  23). 
1494, 1495.     In  Bologna,  work  on  the  tomb  of  St.  Dominick 

(pp.  47,  48). 
1495.     Return  to  Florence,  the  Sleeping  Cupid  (pp.  50-52). 
1496-1498.     In  Rome  :  — 

The  Bacchus  (p.  58). 
The  South  Kensington  Cupid  (p.  62). 
The  Pieta  (p.  69). 
1500.     A  second  visit  to  Rome  (p.  80). 
1501-1505.     In  Florence  (p.  87). 

1504.  Statue  of  David  (p.  96)  taken    from  workshop,  May 

14 ;  arrived  at  Piazza  Signoria,  May  18  ;  set  in  place, 
June  8. 
Commissioned  in  August  to  prepare  cartoons  for  decora- 
tion of  Hall  in  Palazzo  Vecchio,  on  wall  opposite  to 
that  assigned  to  Leonardo  da  Vinci  (p.  119). 

1505.  Arrival  in  Rome  to  work  under  patronage  of  the  Pope 

Julius  II.  (p.  126). 
Preparations  begun  for  work  on  tomb  of  Julius  and  trip 
to  Carrara  to  select  marbles  (p.  129). 

1506.  His  angry  flight  from  Rome  (p.  155). 

Visit  in   Florence  and  completion  of    competitive  car- 
toon (Battle  of  Pisa)  for  Palazzo  Vecchio  (p.  161). 
Reconciliation  with   the  Pope   at   Bologna,  November 
(p.  186). 
1506-1508.     Residence   in  Bologna,  and   statue  of  Julius  IL 

(pp.  187  and  195). 
1508.     Return  to  Florence,  March  (p.  197). 

Thence  to  Rome  by  order  of  Julius  II.  (p.  198). 
Frescoes  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  begun  (p.  206). 


INTRODUCTION  xix 

1509.     First  uncovering  of  the  Sistine  Chapel  ceiling,  showing 
frescoes  in  the  central  space  (pp.  209,  211). 

1512.  Sistine  frescoes  completed,  October  (p.  217). 

1513.  Death  of  Michelangelo's  patron,  Julius  II.,  Feb.  21. 
New  contract  for  tomb,  dated  May  6  (p.  302). 

1514.  Contract  for  life  size  marble  statue  of  Christ.     Date  of 

deed,  June  14  (p.  305). 
1516.     Reduced  plan  for  tomb  of  Julius  II.  (p.  320). 
Visit  to  Carrara  to  quarry  marble. 

Suspension  of  work  on  tomb  to  make  facade  of  church 
of  S.  Lorenzo  (Florence)  for  Pope  Leo  X.  (p.  323). 
1518.     Contract  for  facade  of  S.  Lorenzo,  Jan.  19  (p.  328). 
1518, 1519.     To  and  from   Florence  and  Carrara  for  marble 
(pp.  331,  339,  341,  342). 

1520.  Facade  of  S.  Lorenzo  abandoned  (p.  349). 

1521.  Work  begun  on  tombs  in  sacristy  of  S.  Lorenzo  (p.  357). 
Statue  of  Christ  finished  (pp.  306,  359). 

Death  of  Michelangelo's  patron,  Leo  X.,  Dec.  1. 

1523.  Fresh  beginning  of  project  of  the  Medicean  tombs  in 

sacristy  of  S.  Lorenzo  (p.  372). 

1524.  Vasari's  apprenticeship  with  Michelangelo  (p.  389). 

1525.  Work  in  Florence  on  Medicean  tombs  (p.  391). 

1526.  Work  begun  on  Laurentian  Library  (p.  397). 

1527.  1528.     Uneventful  years  in  Florence  (p.  404). 

1529.  His  services  on  the  fortifications  of  S.  Miniato,  to  de- 

fend Florence  against  the  Medici  (pp.  409,  412). 
Flight  from  Florence  to  Venice,  Sept.  21  (p.  416). 

1530.  Capitulation  of  Florence  (p.  435). 
*    Michelangelo  in  hiding  (p.  437). 

Resumption  of  work  on  Medicean  tombs  (p.  438). 
1530-1533.     Work  on  Medicean  tombs  (p.  447). 
1532.     New  contract  for  tomb  of  Julius  II.  (p.  455). 

1534.  Death  of  Clement  VII. 

1535.  Appointed  chief  architect,  sculptor,  and  painter  at  the 

Vatican  by  Pope  Paul  III.,  Sept.  1  (vol.  ii.  p.  40). 
1536-1537.     Work  on  the  Last  Judgment  (vol.  ii.  p.  43). 
1538-1547.     Friendship  with  Vittoria  Colonna  (vol.  ii.  pp.  93, 
117,  125). 


xx  MICHELANGELO 

1541.  Last   Judgment   shown   to   the  public,    Christmas  day 

(vol.  ii.  p.  58). 

1542.  Work  assigned  by  Paul  III.  for  frescoes  in  the  Pauline 

Chapel  (vol.  ii.  p.  69). 
Michelangelo's   last   contract   for  tomb   of  Julius   II. 
(vol.  ii.  pp.  40,  69,  73). 

1544.     Illness  (vol.  ii.  pp.  183,  187). 

1546.     Michelangelo  succeeds  Antonio  da  Gallo  as  architect-in- 
chief  at  St.  Peter's  (vol.  ii.  p.  213). 

1552.     Invitation  of  Duke  Cosimo  de'  Medici  to  return  to  Flor- 
ence declined  (vol.  ii.  pp.  289-291). 

1556.  Excursion  to  Spoleto  (vol.  ii.  p.  303). 

1557.  Model  for  cupola  of  St.  Peter's  (vol.  ii.  p.  232). 
1564.     Death  in  Rome,  Feb.  17  (vol.  ii.  p.  320). 

VI.    SOME    OF    MICHELANGELO'S     FAMOUS    ITALIAN 
CONTEMPORARIES. 

RULERS. 

Florentine  Dukes :  — 

Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  1469-1492. 

Piero  de'  Medici  succeeded  Lorenzo  1492,  expelled  from  Flor- 
ence 1493. 

Alessandro  de'  Medici,  made  first  hereditary  duke  of  Florence 
1531,  assassinated  1537. 

Cosimo  de'  Medici  succeeded  Alessandro,  1537-1574. 

Popes :  — 

Sixtus  IV.,  1471-1484.  Clement  VII.,  1523-1534 

Innocent  VIIL,  1484-1492.  Paul  III.,  1534-1550. 

Alexander  VI.,  1492-1503.  Marcellus  II.,  1550-1555. 

Pius  III.,  1503-1503.  Paul  IV.,  1555-1555. 

Julius  II.,  1503-1513.  Pius  IV.,  1555-1559. 

Leo  X.,  1513-1522.  Pius  V.,  1559-1566. 
Hadrian  VI.,  1522-1523. 

MEN   OF   LETTERS. 

Boiardo,  1434-1494,  poet  (Orlando  Innamorato). 
Ariosto,  1474-1533,  poet  (Orlando  Furioso). 


INTRODUCTION  xn 

Aretino  (Venetian)  1492-1557,  poet. 

Francesco  Berni,  1496-1535,  burlesque  poet. 

Bandello,  1480-1562,  novelliero. 

Sannazaro,  1458-1530,  poet  (Arcadia). 

Niccolo  Machiavelli,  1469-1527,  author  of  The  Prince. 

Gucciardini,  1483-1540,  historian. 

Tasso,  1544-1595,  poet  (Gerusalemme  Liberata). 

Group  centring  about  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent  in  Florence. 

Cristoforo  Landino,  1424-1504,  tutor  of  Lorenzo,  and  professor 

of  Latin  Literature. 
Bartolommeo  Scala,  1430-1497,  chancellor  of  Florence. 
Luigi  Pulci,  1431-1487,  writer  of  burlesque  epic  II  Morgante 

Maggiore,  and  intimate  friend  of  Lorenzo  and  Poliziano. 
Marsilio   Ficino,  1433-1499,  president   of  Academy  in  1463, 

translator  of  Plato  and  Plotinus. 
Angelo  Poliziano,  1454-1494,  tutor  of  Lorenzo's  children,  and 

professor  of   Greek  and  Latin  Literature  in  University  of 

Florence. 
Giovanni   Pico   della   Mirandola,    1463-1494,   published    900 

theses  at  Rome  in  defence  of  Platonic  mysticism. 

Group  in  Rome  :  — 

Pietro  Bembo,   1470-1547,  made  cardinal  in  1539,  master  of 

Latin  style  and  also  writer  in  Italian. 
Jacopo  Sadoleto,  1477-1547,  made  cardinal  in  1536,  writer  of 

Latin  verses,  moral  treatises,  and  commentary  on  Romans. 
Egidio  Canisio,  1470-1532,  made  cardinal  in  1457,  Latin  orator 

and  writer  on  philosophy,  history,  and  theology. 
Paolo  Giovio,  1483-1552,  bishop  of  Nocera  1528,  historian  and 

biographer. 
Baldassare  Castiglione,  1478-1529,  diplomatist  and  scholar. 
Gian  Francesco  Pico  della  Mirandola,  1470-1533,   author  of 

life  of  Savonarola. 
Jerome  Aleander,  1480-1542,  made  cardinal  in  1536,  librarian 

at  Vatican. 
Marcus  Musurus,  1470-1517,  lecturer  in  Gymnasium  Caballini 

Montis. 


xxii  MICHELANGELO 

Joannes  Lascaris,   1445-1535,   superintendent  of  Greek  press 

established  in  Rome  by  Leo  X. 
Riario,  Giulio  de'  Medici,  Bibbiena,  Petrucci,  Farnese,  Alidosi, 

Gonzaga,  cardinals  and  patrons  of  literature. 


PAINTERS. 

Ghirlandajo,  1449-1495  ? 

Florentine 

Verrocchio,  1435-1488 

it 

Leonardo  da  Vinci,  1452-1519 

a 

Bartolommeo,  1475-1517 

il 

Francesco  Granacci,  1477-1543  (friend  of 

Michelangelo)  " 

Giuliano  Bugiardini,  1475-1554  (friend  of 

Michelangelo)  " 

Raphael,  1483-1520 

it 

Andrea  del  Sarto,  1486-1531 

a 

Sebastiano  del  Piombo,  1485-1547 

it 

Giorgio  Vasari,  1512-1574 

a 

Giovanni  Bellini,  1428-1516 

Venetian 

Giorgione,  1477-1510 

si 

Titian,  1477-1576 

it 

Tintoretto,  1518-1594 

a 

Paolo  Veronese,  1528-1588 

a 

Perugino,  1446-1523 

Umbrian 

Bazzi,  1477-1549 

Sienese 

Baldassare  Peruzzi,  1481-1536  (also 

architect) 

a 

Domenico  Beccafumi,  1486-1551 

u 

Mantegna,  1431-1506 

Mantuan 

Francia,  1450-1518 

Bolognese 

Correggio,  1494-1534 

Emilian 

MISCELLANEOUS. 

Savonarola,  1452-1498,  prior  of  monastery  of  S.  Marco,  Florence, 
preacher,  reformer,  martyr. 

Marc'  Antonio,  1487-1539,  engraver. 

Bramante,  1444-1514,  architect  of  St.  Peter's. 

Antonio  da  San  Gallo,  1485-1546,  architect  of  St.  Peter's. 

Christopher  Columbus,  1436  or  1446-1506,  discoverer. 

Aldo  Manuzio  (Teobaldo  Mannucci),  1450-1515,  printer,  estab- 
lished press  at  Venice  1490. 

Vittoria  Colonna,  1490-1547,  poet. 


THE    MADONNA    AND    CHILD 

About  two  thousand  years  ago  a  babe  was  born 
in  the  little  Judsean  village  of  Bethlehem  whose  life 
was  to  change  all  history.  His  name  was  Jesus,  and 
every  Christian  country  now  takes  his  birth  as  a 
standard  from  which  to  reckon  time.  When  we 
speak  of  the  year  1900,  we  are  counting  the  number 
of  years  that  have  passed  since  that  event.1  To 
make  this  clear  we  sometimes  add  the  initials  A.  d., 
standing  for  the  Latin  words,  Anno  Domini,  mean- 
ing in  the  year  of  our  Lord.  To  go  still  farther 
back  we  speak  of  an  event  as  so  many  years  b.  c.  or 
Before  Christ. 

The  infant  Jesus  came  to  his  mother  Mary  as  a 
peculiar  treasure.  Before  his  birth  she  had  had  a 
vision  of  an  angel  telling  her  that  her  son  was  to 
reign  over  a  great  kingdom.  She  felt  that  there 
was  a  great  and  solemn  mystery  in  his  life. 

At  the  time  he  was  born,  Bethlehem  happened  to 
be  crowded  with  people  who  had  come  there  to  pay 
their  taxes.  When  Mary  and  her  husband  Joseph 
went  to  the  inn,  there  was  no  room  for  them,  and 
the  baby  was  laid  in  a  manger  used  to  feed  cattle. 

1  To  be  perfectly  exact  we  must  always  add  four  years  to  a  date 
to  get  the  full  length  of  time  passed  since  the  birth  of  Christ,  as  a 
mistake  has  been  made  in  the  calculation. 


•       •••_••      • 


2  :\ : :::  >•: 0  •  : :  mich^iangelo 

This  was  a  humble  cradle  for  one  destined  to  be  a 
king ;  but  the  mother  did  not  think  too  much  of 
outward  things.  Her  confidence  in  her  son's  great- 
ness was  not  to  be  shaken  by  trifles  like  this. 

The  new-born  babe  was  soon  sought  out.  First 
came  some  shepherds  asking  to  see  him,  because, 
while  watching  their  sheep  at  night,  they  had  had 
a  vision  of  angels  telling  them  that  a  Saviour  was 
born  in  Bethlehem.  Still  stranger  visitors  were 
some  wise  men  from  the  East,  who  said  they  had 
seen  a  star  which  signified  to  them  the  birth  of  a 
king.  They  brought  the  babe  royal  gifts  of  gold 
and  frankincense  and  myrrh,  and  returned  on  their 
way  well  pleased  with  the  success  of  their  journey. 

When  the  babe  was  about  a  month  old  he  was 
carried  up  to  the  great  city  of  Jerusalem,  where, 
according  to  the  religious  custom  of  the  Jews,  he 
was  to  be  offered  or  presented  to  the  Lord,  in  the 
temple.  Here  a  saintly  old  man  named  Simeon 
took  him  in  his  arms,  with  some  strange  words  of 
prophecy  of  the  salvation  which  this  child  was  to 
bring  to  the  world. 

All  these  things  made  a  deep  impression  upon 
Mary,  and  she  was  a  proud  and  devoted  mother. 
Day  by  day  she  watched  her  child  grow  "  strong  in 
spirit,  filled  with  wisdom ;  and  the  grace  of  God 
was  upon  him."     It  is  said  that 

"  All  mothers  worship  little  feet, 
And  kiss  the  very  ground  they  've  trod," 

and  this  mother  had  special  cause  for  child  worship. 
The  Italians  always  refer  to  the  mother  of  Jesus 


1     »      > 


Alinari,  Photo. 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  8c. 


MADONNA  AND  CHILD 

National  Museum,  Florence 


THE  MADONNA  AND  CHILD  5 

as  the  Madonna,  which  is  the  old  Italian  way  of 
addressing  a  lady.  This  representation  of  the  Ma- 
donna and  Child  makes  us  understand  better  what 
the  two  were  to  each  other.  The  confiding  way 
in  which  the  boy  leans  against  his  mother's  knee 
shows  the  love  between  them.  The  mother  looks 
like  a  queen ;  on  her  well-poised  head  she  wears  a 
headdress  something  like  a  crown.  As  the  mother 
of  a  prince  she  bears  her  honors  proudly. 

On  her  lap  is  the  book  from  which  she  has  been 
reading.  The  child  seems  dreaming  of  the  wonder- 
ful words  he  has  heard,  as  he  rests  his  cheek  on  his 
little  hand,  his  elbow  bent  across  the  open  page.  A 
thoughtful  mood  is  upon  them  both,  and  there  is 
something  wistful  in  the  boy's  attitude.  The  mes- 
sage they  have  read  must  indeed  be  a  solemn  one. 
Perhaps  it  is  something  which  recalls  to  the  mother 
the  promise  of  the  angel  in  foretelling  the  birth  of 
Jesus.  She  thinks  of  the  great  honors  that  are  to 
be  his,  and  also  of  the  sacrifices  by  which  they  must 
be  won.  The  book  may  be  open  at  the  words  of 
one  of  those  old  Hebrew  prophets  who  longed  for 
the  coming  of  the  Redeemer.  There  is  a  verse  in 
the  prophecy  of  Isaiah,  which  speaks  of  a  child  upon 
whose  shoulders  the  government  shall  rest.1  The 
writer  tells  some  of  the  many  names  by  which  he 
shall  be  called,  and  we  may  imagine  this  mother 
and  child  going  over  together  these  strange  titles : 
"Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The  Mighty  God,  The 
Everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace." 

*  Isaiah,  chapter  ix.  verse  6. 


6  MICHELANGELO 

Our  illustration  is  from  a  bas-relief  by  Michel- 
angelo, and  as  we  examine  it  closely  we  discover 
that  the  sculptor's  work  was  left  unfinished.  The 
rough  marks  of  the  chisel  are  still  seen  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  marble.  A  child's  figure  in  the  back- 
ground is  quite  indistinct.  Probably  it  was  intended 
for  the  boy  St.  John  the  Baptist,  the  cousin  of  Jesus. 
The  child  Jesus  himself  is  by  no  means  completed ; 
his  right  arm  is  only  faintly  indicated. 

As  we  shall  learn  from  other  examples  of  sculp- 
ture in  this  book,1  Michelangelo  often  neglected  to 
carry  his  work  to  completion.  He  was  so  possessed 
with  his  ideas  that  he  could  not  work  fast  enough 
in  sketching  them  on  the  marble,  but  after  this,  it 
did  not  matter  so  much  to  him  about  the  finishing. 
He  had  done  enough  to  show  his  meaning. 

There  are  reasons  for  liking  such  work  all  the 
better  for  being  unfinished.  Some  of  the  most 
delightful  stories  ever  written,  like  those  of  Haw- 
thorne, leave  something  at  the  end  still  unexplained. 
The  reader's  imagination  is  then  free  to  go  on  for- 
ever exploring  the  mystery,  and  inventing  new 
situations.  So  in  this  bas-relief,  the  great  sculptor 
does  not  work  out  the  details,  but  allows  us  to  exer- 
cise our  own  fancy  upon  them.  He  sketches  his 
thought  in  a  few  noble  lines,  and  each  may  round 
out  for  himself  the  completed  ideal. 

1  Note  particularly  the  Cupid  on  page  15,  and  the  tomb  of  Giuliano 
de'  Medici  on  page  81. 


II 

DAVID 

Long  ago  in  the  country  of  Palestine  lived  a  lad 
named  David,  who  kept  his  father's  sheep.  His 
free  life  out  of  doors  made  him  strong  and  manly- 
bey  ond  his  years.  The  Israelites  were  at  this  time 
at  war  with  the  Philistines,  and  David's  quick  wit 
and  indomitable  courage  fitted  him  to  play  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  issue  of  the  war. 

The  Philistine  army  contained  a  giant  named 
Goliath,  described  as  "  six  cubits  and  a  span  "  in 
height.  That  is  over  ten  feet ;  but  perhaps  his  ter- 
rible appearance,  in  all  his  armor,  made  him  taller 
than  he  really  was. 

One  day  this  giant  came  out  from  his  army  and 
made  a  proposal  to  the  Israelites : 1  "  Choose  you  a 
man  for  you,  and  let  him  come  down  to  me.  If  he 
be  able  to  fight  with  me,  and  to  kill  me,  then  will 
we  be  your  servants :  but  if  I  prevail  against  him 
and  kill  him,  then  shall  ye  be  our  servants,  and 
serve  us."  Every  day,  morning  and  evening  for 
forty  days,  the  Philistine  stood  forth  and  repeated 
his  challenge,  yet  in  vain.  Saul,  the  king,  and  all 
Israel,  were  "  dismayed  and  greatly  afraid." 

Now  it  happened  that  David's  three  elder  brothers 

1  1  Samuel,  chapter  xvii.  verses  8,  9. 


8  MICHELANGELO 

were  in  the  Israelite  army,  and  one  day  their  father 
sent  him  to  them  with  a  present  of  some  provisions. 
While  the  lad  was  talking  with  his  brothers,  Goliath 
came  out  with  his  usual  call  of  defiance.  David 
listened  with  wonder  and  indignation.  "  Who  is 
this  Philistine?"  he  asked  scornfully,  "that  he 
should  defy  the  armies  of  the  living  God  ?  "  The 
brothers  were  angry  at  what  they  thought  foolish 
bravado  on  the  part  of  David ;  but  there  were  others 
who  reported  his  words  to  Saul,  who  forthwith  sent 
for  the  lad.  Then  David  amazed  the  king  by  boldly 
offering  to  go  and  fight  with  the  Philistine. 

"  And  Saul  said  to  David,  '  Thou  art  not  able  to 
go  against  this  Philistine  to  fight  with  him :  for 
thou  art  but  a  youth,  and  he  a  man  of  war  from  his 
youth.'  And  David  said  unto  Saul,  '  Thy  servant 
kept  his  father's  sheep,  and  there  came  a  lion,  and 
a  bear,  and  took  a  lamb  out  of  the  flock :  And  I 
went  out  after  him,  and  smote  him,  and  delivered  it 
out  of  his  mouth :  and  when  he  arose  against  me,  I 
caught  him  by  his  beard,  and  smote  him,  and  slew 
him.  Thy  servant  slew  both  the  lion  and  the  bear. 
.  .  .  The  Lord  that  delivered  me  out  of  the  paw  of 
the  lion,  and  out  of  the  paw  of  the  bear,  he  will 
deliver  me  out  of  the  hand  of  this  Philistine.'  And 
Saul  said  unto  David,  '  Go,  and  the  Lord  be  with 
thee.' 

"  And  Saul  armed  David  with  his  armour,  and  he 
put  an  helmet  of  brass  upon  his  head ;  also  he  armed 
him  with  a  coat  of  mail.  And  David  girded  his 
sword  upon  his  armour,  and  he  assayed  to  go ;  for 


Alinari,  Photo- 


John  Andrew  &  Son.  Sc. 


DAVID 

Academy  of  Fine  Arts,  Florence 


DAVID  11 

he  had  not  proved  it.  And  David  said  unto  Saul, 
6 1  cannot  go  with  these ;  for  I  have  not  proved 
them.'  And  David  put  them  off  him.  And  he 
took  his  staff  in  his  hand  and  chose  him  five  smooth 
stones  out  of  the  brook,  .  .  .  and  his  sling  was  in 
his  hand :  and  he  drew  near  to  the  Philistine.  .  .  . 

"And  when  the  Philistine  looked  about,  and  saw 
David,  he  disdained  him :  for  he  was  but  a  youth, 
and  ruddy,  and  of  a  fair  countenance.  .  .  .  And 
the  Philistine  said  to  David,  i  Come  to  me,  and  I 
will  give  thy  flesh  unto  the  fowls  of  the  air,  and 
to  the  beasts  of  the  field.'  Then  said  David  to 
the  Philistine,  '  Thou  comest  to  me  with  a  sword, 
and  with  a  spear,  and  with  a  shield :  but  I  come 
to  thee  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  of  hosts,  the  God 
of  the  armies  of  Israel,  whom  thou  hast  defied. 
This  day  will  the  Lord  deliver  thee  into  mine  hand ; 
and  I  will  smite  thee,  and  take  thine  head  from 
thee.'  .  .  . 

"And  it  came  to  pass,  when  the  Philistine  arose, 
and  came  and  drew  nigh  to  meet  David,  that  David 
hasted,  and  ran  toward  the  army  to  meet  the  Philis- 
tine. And  David  put  his  hand  in  his  bag,  and  took 
thence  a  stone,  and  slang  it,  and  smote  the  Philis- 
tine in  his  forehead,  that  the  stone  sunk  into  his 
forehead;  and  he  fell  upon  his  face  to  the  earth. 
So  David  prevailed  over  the  Philistine  with  a  sling 
and  with  a  stone,  and  smote  the  Philistine,  and  slew 
him ;  but  there  was  no  sword  in  the  hand  of  David. 
Therefore  David  ran,  and  stood  upon  the  Philistine, 
and  took  his  sword,  and  drew  it  out  of  the  sheath 


12  MICHELANGELO 

thereof,  and  slew  him,  and  cut  off  his  head  there- 
with. And  when  the  Philistines  saw  their  champion 
was  dead,  they  fled."  1 

This  heroic  adventure  of  David  is  the  subject 
of  Michelangelo's  statue.  The  shepherd,  having 
thrown  off  the  king's  armor,  advances  naked  and 
unhampered,  carrying  only  the  sling  flung  across 
his  back.  The  large  muscular  hand  hanging  by  his 
side  holds  the  piece  of  wood  on  which  the  sling  is 
hung.  It  is  the  hand  that  wrenched  the  lamb  from 
the  lion's  mouth  and  then  seized  the  king  of  beasts 
himself  by  the  beard.  The  left  hand,  poised  on  the 
shoulder,  holds  the  centre  of  the  sling  where  it 
bulges  with  the  pebble.  The  youth  scans  the  enemy 
keenly,  marking  the  spot  at  which  to  aim.  In 
another  moment  the  pebble  will  be  speeding  on  its 
way.  His  air  of  confidence  makes  us  sure  of  the 
victory.     Determination  like  this  must  win  the  day. 

Critics  of  sculpture  tells  us  that  the  statue  of 
David  must  have  been  studied  from  a  model  of  the 
age  which  Michelangelo  imagined  as  that  of  the 
shepherd  lad  at  this  time.  The  figure  is  that  of  a 
growing  youth,  and  although  it  is  therefore  not  so 
beautiful  as  a  type  of  perfectly  developed  manhood, 
it  has  a  rugged  strength  which  makes  it  one  of  the 
sculptor's  most  interesting  works. 

1  1  Samuel,  chapter  xvii.  verses  33-51. 


m 

CUPID 

In  the  mythology  of  ancient  Greece  there  is  no 
more  popular  figure  than  the  little  god  of  love,  Eros, 
more  commonly  known  by  the  Latin  name  Cupid. 
He  was  supposed  to  be  the  son  of  Venus,  the  god- 
dess of  love  and  beauty,  whom  he  attended.  He 
was  never  without  his  bow  and  quiver  of  arrows. 
Whoever  was  hit  by  one  of  his  magic  darts  straight- 
way fell  in  love.  The  wound  was  at  once  a  pain  and 
a  delight.  Some  traditions  say  that  he  shot  blind- 
folded,— his  aim  seemed  often  so  at  random.  Some- 
times the  one  whom  he  wounded  was  apparently 
least  susceptible  to  love.  Indeed,  Cupid  had  the 
reputation  of  being  rather  a  mischievous  fellow, 
fond  of  pranks. 

One  of  these  was  at  the  expense  of  Apollo,  the 
great  sun  god.  Apollo  was  himself  a  mighty  archer, 
and  had  slain  with  his  arrows  the  python  of  Delphi. 
Proud  of  his  victory,  he  mocked  at  the  little  god  of 
love,  advising  him  to  leave  his  arrows  for  the  war- 
like, and  content  himself  with  the  torch  of  love. 
Cupid,  vexed  at  the  taunt,  replied  threateningly, 
"  Thine  arrows  may  strike  all  things  else,  Apollo,  but 
mine  shall  strike  thee."  So  saying  he  drew  from 
his  quiver  two  arrows,  one  of  gold,  to  excite  love, 


14  MICHELANGELO 

and  one  of  lead,  to  repel  it.  With  the  golden  one 
he  shot  Apollo  through  the  heart,  with  the  leaden 
he  shot  the  nymph  Daphne.  So  Apollo  became 
nearly  mad  with  love  for  Daphne,  but  the  maid  fled 
from  him  with  horror.  He  pursued  her,  and  when 
he  was  close  upon  her,  she  turned  into  a  laurel-tree. 

Cupid  continued  to  work  havoc  with  his  arrows. 
Even  his  mother  Venus  could  not  escape  their  power. 
One  day,  when  frolicking  with  her  boy,  she  was 
wounded  by  one  of  the  darts,  and  before  the 
wound  healed  she  saw  and  loved  Adonis.  When 
that  youth  was  killed  in  a  struggle  with  a  wild  boar, 
she  was  inconsolable. 

Another  romantic  tragedy  for  which  Cupid  was 
responsible  was  the  love  between  Hero  and  Leander. 
These  two  young  people  lived  in  towns  on  opposite 
sides  of  the  Hellespont.  Leander  was  one  day  wor- 
shipping in  the  temple  of  Venus,  in  Hero's  town, 
Sestos,  when  he  saw  Hero,  and  was  at  that  moment 
shot  by  Cupid's  arrow.  His  love  was  returned,  and 
every  night  he  swam  across  the  channel  to  see  his 
lady  love,  until  one  night  a  tempest  arose,  and  he 
was  drowned.  The  waves  bore  his  body  to  the 
shore,  where  Hero  found  him,  and  in  her  despair 
threw  herself  into  the  sea  and  was  also  drowned. 

Such  legends  as  these  were  dear  to  the  hearts  of 
the  Greeks.  Their  poets  and  artists  were  very  fond 
of  the  subject  of  Cupid.  Now  Michelangelo's  early 
artistic  training  was  under  the  influence  of  the  Greek 
culture.  He  was  an  inmate  of  the  household  of 
Lorenzo  de'  Medici,  who  was  an  ardent  lover  of  all 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  8c. 


CUPID 

South  Kensington  Museum,  London 


CUPID  17 

that  was  beautiful  in  Greek  art  and  literature.  At 
the  table  of  the  prince  the  youth  must  often  have 
heard  the  old  Greek  myths  related,  and  in  the  gardens 
he  saw  splendid  Greek  marbles.  It  was  natural,  then, 
that  among  his  early  works  in  sculpture  he  should 
choose  the  subject  of  Cupid.  His  idea  was,  how- 
ever, his  own,  and  was  not  at  all  such  as  a  Greek 
would  have  imagined.  Classic  art  always  repre- 
sented the  god  of  love  as  a  merry  little  winged  boy, 
while  in  this  statue  he  is  seen  as  a  well-grown  youth. 
His  face  is  strong  and  masterful,  instead  of  inno- 
cently gay. 

He  has  dropped  on  one  knee  to  take  an  arrow 
from  the  ground.  In  his  raised  left  hand  he  holds 
the  bow,  of  which  we  see  only  a  portion.  His  left 
leg  is  bent  in  position  to  rise  again.  Like  David, 
he  has  an  abundance  of  bushy  hair  crowning  his 
handsome  head ;  his  straight  brows  and  set  mouth 
show  the  same  determination  of  character.  He 
stands  for  love  which  is  determined  to  win,  for 
love  which  conquers  every  obstacle,  for  love  which 
is  unerring  in  aim.  It  is  a  much  nobler  conception 
than  the  mere  passing  fancy  of  which  the  old  myth 
speaks.     Michelangelo  was  one  who  believed  that 

"  Love  betters  what  is  best, 
Even  here  below,  but  more  in  heaven  above." 1 

So  he  put  into  a  pagan  fancy  a  new  and  higher 
meaning. 

To  understand  fully  the  qualities  of  this  work  of 
art,  one  ought  to  see  it  from  many  points  of  view, 

1  From  one  of  Michelangelo's  sonnets  translated  by  Wordsworth- 


18  MICHELANGELO 

and  study  the  lines.  The  long  curve  of  the  right 
arm  follows  the  curve  of  the  right  leg  from  hip  to 
knee.  The  bend  of  the  left  arm  repeats  the  line 
made  by  the  bend  of  the  left  leg.  The  two  extended 
arms  together  form  a  long  line  arching  like  the 
curve  of  a  bow. 

From  every  standpoint  all  the  lines  are  beautiful 
and  harmonious.  This  was  the  secret  the  Greeks 
had  taught  the  young  Italian  sculptor.  In  other 
respects  he  was  entirely  original.  Cupid,  like  David, 
is  in  an  attitude  of  action.  In  another  moment  he 
will  move.  This  was  quite  different  from  the  Greek 
sculpture,  which  always  gives  an  impression  of 
repose. 

Note.  —  There  is  a  difference  of  opinion  among  critics  as  to  the 
subject  of  the  statue  at  South  Kensington.  Heath  Wilson  con- 
sidered it  an  Apollo.  The  writer  has  followed  Symonds  in  calling  it 
Cupid. 

The  size  of  the  statue  may  be  calculated  from  the  foot  rule  which 
lies  across  the  pedestal  in  the  picture. 


IV 

MOSES 

In  Michelangelo's  statue  of  Moses  the  great  He- 
brew leader  is  represented  at  the  height  of  his 
career.  He  was  a  prophet,  a  poet,  a  military  com- 
mander, and  a  statesman.  The  story  of  his  life  will 
show  how  all  these  qualities  could  be  combined  in 
one  person. 

At  the  time  of  his  birth  his  people  were  in  slav- 
ery to  the  Egyptians,  who  cruelly  oppressed  them. 
Their  numbers  were  increasing  so  rapidly  that  it 
was  feared  they  would  soon  outnumber  their  masters. 
So  the  command  went  forth  to  drown  every  boy 
baby.  Now  the  mother  of  Moses  had  no  mind  to 
lose  her  boy,  and  "  when  she  could  not  longer  hide 
him,  she  took  for  him  an  ark  of  bulrushes,  and 
daubed  it  with  slime  and  with  pitch,  and  she  put 
the  child  therein  and  laid  it  in  the  flags  by  the 
river's  brink.  And  his  sister  stood  afar  off,  to  know 
what  would  be  done  to  him."  1 

Then  a  strange  thing  happened.  The  princess 
came  to  the  river  with  her  maids  for  a  bath,  and 
finding  the  babe,  was  touched  by  his  cries.  The 
sister  came  up  as  if  by  chance,  and  asked  if  she 
should  seek  a  Hebrew  nurse  for  the  child,  and  when 
1  Exodus,  chapter  ii.  verses  3,  4,  Revised  Version. 


20  MICHELANGELO 

the  princess  said  Yes,  she  went  straight  for  her 
mother. 

So  Moses  was  adopted  by  an  Egyptian  princess, 
yet  he  was  nurtured  in  infancy  by  his  own  mother. 
This  explains  why,  with  all  the  Egyptian  learning 
acquired  at  court,  he  had  still  the  religious  training 
of  a  Jew,  and  when  he  grew  to  manhood  he  was 
full  of  sympathy  for  the  wrongs  of  his  people.  One 
day  he  saw  an  Egyptian  smiting  a  Hebrew,  and  in 
his  wrath  he  slew  the  Egyptian  on  the  spot.  News 
of  the  deed  came  to  Pharaoh  the  king,  and  Moses 
fled  into  a  place  called  Midian.  Here  for  forty 
years  he  lived  a  quiet  pastoral  life  as  a  shepherd  for 
Jethro,  whose  daughter  he  had  married. 

Then  came  the  divine  call.  He  was  alone  with 
his  sheep  on  the  mountain-side,  when  he  heard  a 
voice  saying,  "  Come  now  and  I  will  send  thee  unto 
Pharaoh,  that  thou  mayest  bring  forth  my  people 
the  children  of  Israel  out  of  Egypt,  .  .  .  and  I  will 
bring  you  up  out  of  the  affliction  of  Egypt  unto  the 
land  of  the  Canaanites  ...  unto  a  land  flowing 
with  milk  and  honey."  !  Thus  Moses  became  the 
leader  of  his  people  in  their  exodus,  or  departure 
from  Egypt. 

After  many  strange  experiences,  the  great  com- 
pany of  emigrants  made  the  passage  of  the  Eed  Sea 
in  safety,  and  Moses  showed  his  poetic  gifts  in  a 
song  of  triumph.  Many  years  of  slavery  had  taken 
the  spirit  out  of  the  Hebrews,  and  they  needed  a 
wise  head  and  a  firm  hand  to  govern  them.     Moses 

1  Exodus,  chapter  iii.  verses  1C  and  17. 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  Sc. 


MOSES 
Church  o)  S.  Pietro  in  Vincoli,  Rome 


MOSES  23 

had  both,  and  he  was,  besides,  a  man  of  God. 
Going  apart  from  them  for  a  season  of  divine  com- 
munion on  the  mountain,  he  spent  forty  days  in 
preparation  for  a  system  of  government.  On  his 
return  he  brought  with  him  two  tables  of  stone, 
inscribed  with  the  ten  great  commandments,  which 
are  at  the  foundation  of  right  character.  He  had 
also  detailed  directions  for  their  daily  conduct,  and 
for  their  religious  ceremonial. 

The  people  for  whose  good  all  these  plans  were 
made  were  in  the  mean  time  discouraged  by  the 
long  absence  of  their  leader.  They  had  no  idea 
how  much  he  was  doing  for  them,  and  in  their  folly 
they  forgot  his  teachings,  and  began  to  practise  the 
idolatrous  customs  they  had  seen  in  Egypt.  On 
descending  the  mountain,  Moses  found  them  wor- 
shipping the  golden  image  of  a  calf.  It  is  not  to 
be  wondered  at  that,  as  the  historian  says,1  "  Moses' 
anger  waxed  hot,  and  he  cast  the  tables  out  of  his 
hands,  and  brake  them  beneath  the  mount." 

Again  Moses  went  up  into  the  mount  for  com- 
munion with  God,  and  again  two  tables  of  stone 
were  inscribed  with  the  ten  commandments,  to  re- 
place those  which  had  been  destroyed.  Again,  also, 
he  was  gone  forty  days,  and  this  time  he  was  given 
a  mysterious  revelation  of  the  goodness  of  God. 

Thus  it  was  that  when  he  came  down  the  people 
were  afraid  to  come  near,  for  2  "  the  skin  of  his  face 
shone,"   or  "put  forth  beams,"   as  the  expression 

1  Exodus,  chapter  xxxii.  verse  19. 

2  Ibid ,  chapter  xxxiv.  verse  30.     See  Revised  Version. 


24  MICHELANGELO 

reads  in  some  Bible  translations.  In  the  old  Latin 
version  made  by  Jerome  in  the  fifth  century,  and 
known  as  the  Vulgate,  translated  into  what  is  now 
called  the  Douay  Bible,  we  read  that  "  Moses'  face 
was  horned."  This  is  why  all  the  old  artists,  who 
were  guided  by  the  Vulgate,  represented  Moses 
with  horns.  These  horns  became,  as  it  were,  sym- 
bols of  Moses'  inspiration  as  a  prophet. 

Michelangelo  followed  the  prevailing  custom  in 
using  these  curious  symbols.  The  long  curling 
beard  gives  his  hero  the  aspect  of  a  poet.  The 
tables  of  stone  show  him  to  be  a  law-giver.  But 
of  all  the  qualities  of  this  many-sided  man  seen 
in  the  great  statue,  the  most  conspicuous  are  his 
qualities  of  leadership,  —  the  keen  glance,  the  com- 
manding air,  the  alert  attitude,  the  determined  look. 
He  seems  ready  to  spring  to  his  feet  if  occasion 
demands.  We  see  also  something  of  his  faults,  of 
the  impulsive  anger  which  slew  the  Egyptian,  and 
dashed  in  pieces  the  tables  of  stone,  and  of  the 
arrogance  which  cost  him  the  privilege  of  entering 
Canaan. 

He  was  not  permitted  to  see  his  labors  carried  to 
completion,  but  on  the  borders  of  Canaan  "  went  up 
into  the  mountain  of  Nebo,  .  .  .  and  died  there  in 
the  land  of  Moab,  according  to  the  word  of  the 
Lord.  And  he  buried  him  in  a  valley  .  .  .  over 
against  Beth-peor ;  but  no  man  knoweth  of  his  sep- 
ulchre unto  this  day." 


THE    HOLY   FAMILY 

The  pictures  we  have  thus  far  studied  in  this  col- 
lection are  reproductions  of  works  of  sculpture. 
This  is  the  art  which  Michelangelo  loved  best.  He 
was,  however,  a  painter  also,  and  in  the  later  years 
of  his  life  he  was  even  drawn  into  architecture. 
Painting  was  the  first  art  he  studied,  but  he  soon 
laid  it  aside  for  sculpture,  and  after  that  returned 
to  it  from  time  to  time  throughout  his  life. 

This  picture  of  the  Holy  Family  is  from  a  tempera 
painting.  It  shows  us  a  glimpse  of  the  home  life  of 
the  child  Jesus.  We  have  already  seen  in  the  bas- 
relief  of  the  Madonna  and  Child  how  thoughtful  a 
mood  was  sometimes  upon  the  mother  and  her  boy. 
In  this  picture  they  are  making  merry  together. 
The  mother,  seated  on  the  ground,  tosses  the  boy 
with  her  strong  arms,  for  her  husband  Joseph  to 
catch.  She  is  a  beautiful  woman,  large,  and  full  of 
life  and  vigor.  The  boy  is  a  healthy,  happy  child, 
with  perfect  confidence  in  his  mother.  He  rests  his 
fat  little  hands  on  her  head  to  steady  himself. 

Joseph,  bald  and  gray,  takes  the  play  a  little 
more  seriously,  as  he  gently  lifts  the  boy  from  the 
mother's  arms.  He  has  a  special  care  for  the  child. 
It  was  he  who  was  warned  by  an  angel  in  a  dream 


26  MICHELANGELO 

that  it  was  dangerous  to  remain  in  Judaea.  It  was 
he  who  "  took  the  young  child  and  his  mother  by 
night  and  departed  into  Egypt."  1  It  was  he  again 
who  duly  brought  them  back  to  their  native  country 
when  the  cruel  king  was  dead  who  had  threatened 
the  child's  life.  After  the  return  from  Egypt  Joseph 
and  his  family  settled  in  the  little  town  of  Nazareth, 
where  he  followed  the  trade  of  a  carpenter. 

Now  Jesus  had  a  cousin,  a  boy  who  was  not  far 
from  the  same  age.  His  name  was  John,  and  his 
mission  in  life  was  closely  connected  with  that  of 
Jesus.  He  was  to  grow  up  a  great  preacher,  and 
finally  to  lead  people  to  Jesus  himself.  His  parents 
knew  before  his  birth,  from  an  angelic  visitation, 
that  he  was  to  be  a  prophet.  His  mother  Eliza- 
beth, and  Mary  the  mother  of  Jesus,  used  to  talk 
together,  before  their  children  were  born,  of  the 
strange  future  in  store  for  them.  We  like  to  think 
that  the  two  boys  grew  up  as  companions  and  play- 
mates. 

It  is  this  little  boy  John  who  is  seen  in  the  back 
of  the  picture,  at  the  right,  coming  up  as  if  to  join 
the  child  Jesus  in  his  romp.  We  see  his  eager  little 
face,  with  the  long  hair  blown  back  from  it,  just 
above  the  coping  stone  surrounding  the  garden  in- 
closure  which  the  Holy  Family  occupy.  He  carries 
over  his  left  shoulder  a  slender  reed  cross,  such  as 
is  given  him  in  all  the  old  works  of  art  as  a  symbol 
of  his  prophetic  character. 

You  may  say  when  you  look  at  the  picture  that 

1  Matthew,  chapter  ii.  verses  13,  14. 


Alinari,  Photo. 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  Sc. 


THE  HOLY  FAMILY 
Uffizi  Gallery,  Florence 


THE  HOLY  FAMILY  2d 

this  is  such  a  group  as  you  might  see  any  day  in 
some  Tuscan  village.  The  people  are  indeed  very 
plainly  of  the  peasant  class,  and  the  artist  did  not 
go  far  out  of  his  way  to  find  his  figures.  Perhaps 
he  thought  this  was  after  all  the  best  way  to  show 
that  the  Holy  Family  was  not  unlike  other  families 
in  enjoying  the  simple  pleasures  of  home  life.  We 
may  feel  a  closer  sense  of  kinship  with  them  on  that 
account. 

In  studying  the  artistic  qualities  of  this  picture 
we  have  to  remember  that  Michelangelo  was  more 
of  a  sculptor  than  a  painter,  and  that  he  went  to 
work  upon  a  painting  with  the  same  methods  he 
used  in  marble.  The  central  figures  are  grouped  in 
a  solid  mass  as  if  for  a  bas-relief,  as  we  may  see  by 
comparing  this  illustration  with  that  of  the  Madonna 
and  Child.  The  mother's  arms  are  so  "  modelled," 
to  use  a  critical  term,  that  they  seem  to  start  out 
from  the  canvas  "  in  the  round,"  just  as  if  cut  from 
marble.  The  folds  of  her  dress,  as  well  as  those  of 
Joseph's  garment,  are  arranged  in  the  long  beauti- 
ful lines  artists  call  "  sculpturesque." 

The  sculptor's  methods  are  also  plainly  seen  in 
the  peculiarity  of  his  background.  In  a  picture  of 
this  kind  most  painters  would  have  painted  there  a 
landscape,  but  Michelangelo  did  nothing  of  the 
kind.  Instead  there  is  a  semicircular  parapet  upon 
which  five  slender  unclothed  youths  are  playing 
together.  Three  sit  upon  the  wall  and  two  lean 
against  it. 

The  figures  bear  no  relation  to  the  story  of  the 


30  MICHELANGELO 

picture.  They  are  introduced  merely  for  the  sake 
of  decoration.  To  Michelangelo  there  was  nothing 
so  beautiful  in  decoration  as  the  human  form.  The 
lines  made  by  different  positions  of  the  body  trace 
patterns  more  beautiful,  he  thought,  than  any  ara- 
besques. The  Greeks  had  the  same  idea  when  they 
decorated  the  pediments  of  their  temples  with  bas- 
reliefs  of  nude  figures.  Applying  this  principle  of 
sculpture  to  his  painting,  Michelangelo  arranged 
these  boys  so  that  their  slender  limbs  intertwine  in 
graceful  patterns,  making  a  decorative  background 
to  fill  in  the  picture.  The  lightness  and  delicacy 
of  the  design  heighten  the  effect  of  solidity  in  the 
figures  of  the  foreground,  giving  them  the  promi- 
nence of  figures  in  relief . 


VI 

THE    PIETl 

In  the  busy  years  of  Christ's  ministry  we  do  not 
read  of  his  often  being  with  his  mother  Mary.  He 
was  going  about  the  country  preaching  and  healing, 
and  gave  himself  wholly  to  his  mission.  Yet  we 
know  that  the  love  between  mother  and  son  was 
constant  and  unchanging.  From  beginning  to  end 
she  always  had  confidence  in  his  power,  and  his 
tender  care  for  her  was  among  his  last  thoughts. 

On  the  dreadful  day  of  the  Crucifixion,  the  mother 
was  found  standing  by  the  cross,  with  her  sister  and 
Mary  Magdalene.  "  When  Jesus  therefore  saw  his 
mother,  and  the  disciple  standing  by,  whom  he  loved 
[that  is,  St.  John],  he  saith  unto  his  mother,  Wo- 
man, behold  thy  son  !  Then  saith  he  to  the  dis- 
ciple, Behold  thy  mother !  And  from  that  hour 
that  disciple  took  her  unto  his  own  home."  * 

We  can  imagine  the  mother's  anguish  in  seeing 
her  son  suffer  this  cruel  and  ignominious  death. 
He  had  lived  only  to  do  good,  and  now  he  was  dying 
an  innocent  sacrifice  to  his  enemies.  At  such  a 
moment  the  mother  might  truly  feel  that  a  sword 
was  piercing  her  soul,  as  the  old  man  Simeon 2  had 
once  prophesied  of  her,  many  years  before. 

1  John,  chapter  xix.  verses  26,  27.      2  Luke,  chapter  ii.  verse  35. 


32  MICHELANGELO 

"  Wearied  was  her  heart  with  grieving, 
Worn  her  breast  with  sorrow  heaving, 
Through  her  soul  the  sword  had  passed. 

"  Ah  !  how  sad  and  broken-hearted 
Was  that  blessed  mother,  parted 
From  the  God-begotten  One ! 

"  How  her  loving  heart  did  languish 
When  she  saw  the  mortal  anguish 
Which  o'erwhelmed  her  peerless  Son." 1 

Time  passed,  and  Jesus  now  being  dead,  his 
friends  were  permitted  by  the  governor  to  remove 
him  from  the  cross.  Joseph  of  Arimathea  took  the 
lead,  as  he  was  to  lay  the  body  in  a  new  sepulchre 
recently  made  in  his  garden.  Nicodemus  was  also 
there,  bringing  linen  and  spices  for  the  burial,  and 
the  loving  women  lingered  to  see  these  preparations. 

We  can  imagine  how  they  might  all  stand  aside  to 
make  room  for  the  mother  Mary.  Perhaps,  indeed, 
they  would  withdraw  a  little  way  to  leave  her  for  a 
moment  alone  with  her  son.  The  years  seem  to 
melt  away,  and  again  she  gathers  him  in  her  lap  as 
when  he  was  a  babe.  All  the  motherly  tenderness 
which  she  has  had  long  pent  up  in  her  heart  now 
overflows.  If  she  has  sometimes  felt  a  little  lonely 
that  in  his  manhood  he  no  longer  needed  her  care, 
she  forgets  it  now.     He  is  still  her  child. 

The  marble  group  by  Michelangelo  interprets 
such  a  moment  for  us.  The  Italians  call  the  subject 
the  Pieta,  which  means  compassion,  but  the  name 
scarcely  expresses  all  the  emotions  of  the  mother. 

1  From  Stabat  Mater. 


THE  PIETA  35 

She  seems  as  strong  and  young  as  when  she  brooded 
over  her  babe  in  the  Bethlehem  manger.  "  Purity 
enjoys  eternal  youth  "  was  the  sculptor's  explanation 
to  those  who  objected. 

Across  her  capacious,  motherly  lap  lies  the  slen- 
der, youthful  figure  of  the  dead  Christ.  The  head 
falls  back,  and  the  limbs  are  relaxed  in  death.  Suf- 
fering has  left  no  trace  on  his  face.  The  nail  prints 
in  hands  and  feet,  and  the  scar  in  the  side,  are  the 
only  signs  of  his  crucifixion.  The  delicately  moulded 
body  is  beautiful  in  repose. 

The  mother  seems  to  find  mysterious  comfort  in 
gazing  upon  her  son.  Perhaps  his  death  has  opened 
her  eyes  to  the  meaning  of  his  life.  If  this  is  so, 
she  cannot  grieve.  He  has  finished  the  work  given 
him  to  do,  and  death  is  the  beginning  of  immor- 
tality. So  sorrow  gives  place  to  resignation.  She 
is  again  the  proud  mother.  The  fond  hopes  with 
which  she  watched  his  childhood  have  been  more 
than  fulfilled.  She  extends  her  hand  in  a  gesture 
which  seems  to  say,  "Behold  and  see." 

It  is  said  that  certain  Lombards,  passing  through 
the  church  where  the  Pieta  stood,  ascribed  the  work 
to  a  Milanese  sculptor  named  Cristoforo  Solari. 
Michelangelo,  having  overheard  them,  shut  himself 
up  in  the  chapel,  and  chiselled  his  name  upon  the 
girdle  which  crosses  the  Madonna's  breast  and  sup- 
ports her  flowing  garments.  His  name  is  not  found 
on  any  of  his  other  works,  and  we  can  understand 
why  he  felt  proud  of  such  a  masterpiece.  Though 
made  when  on  the  very  threshold  of  his  career,  it 


36  MICHELANGELO 

was  never  surpassed  even  in  his  later  years.  Some 
other  artist  afterwards  designed  the  two  little  bronze 
cherubs  who  hold  a  crown  over  the  Madonna's  head. 
They  are  quite  out  of  harmony  with  the  impressive 
dignity  of  the  figures  below. 

Michelangelo's  early  love  of  Greek  sculpture 
taught  him  many  lessons,  which  were  worked  out  in 
this  group.  It  has,  first  of  all,  that  perfect  repose 
which  was  the  leading  trait  in  classic  art.  There  is 
nothing  strained  or  violent  in  the  positions.  Besides 
this,  the  figures  are  so  arranged  that  on  all  sides,  as 
in  a  Greek  statue,  the  lines  are  beautiful  and  har- 
monious. 

But  the  subject  itself  is  one  which  would  have 
been  too  sad  for  the  pleasure-loving  Greek.  To  the 
pagan  the  thought  of  death  was  something  to  be 
avoided.  Michelangelo's  statue  teaches  the  highest 
lesson  of  religious  faith,  —  the  beauty  of  resigned 
sorrow  and  the  sublimity  of  sacrificing  love. 


VII 

CHRIST  TRIUMPHANT 

{Cristo  Risorto) 

The  character  of  Christ  is  so  many-sided  that 
when  trying  to  fancy  how  he  looked  while  he  lived 
in  the  world,  every  one  has  probably  a  different 
thought  uppermost.  The  business  man  and  the 
lawyer  may  imagine  the  keen,  searching  glance 
which  he  turned  upon  those  who  tried  to  entangle 
him  with  hard  questions.  A  loving  woman  thinks 
rather  of  the  compassionate  look  with  which  he 
greeted  the  sisters  of  Lazarus  when  they  came  to 
tell  him  that  their  brother  was  dead.  The  physician 
may  wonder  how  he  looked  when  he  spoke  the  com- 
manding words  to  those  whom  he  healed. 

Others  dwell  upon  his  sufferings  as  the  Man  of 
Sorrows,  and  often  think  how  sad  he  looked  when 
he  referred  to  the  disciple  who  should  betray  him. 
Lovers  of  nature  like  to  imagine  the  look  of  pleasure 
on  his  face  in  seeing  the  lilies  growing  in  the  field, 
or  the  expression  of  eager  inquiry  with  which  he 
asked  the  fishermen  what  luck  they  had  had.  Every 
boy  and  girl  likes  best  to  think  of  him  smiling  upon 
the  children,  whom  he  called  to  him  and  took  in 
his  arms. 

Now  when  an  artist  makes  an  ideal  representation 


38  MICHELANGELO 

of  Christ,  he  tries  to  show  us  as  many  as  possible 
of  these  elements  of  character  combined  in  one 
figure.  So  we  may  test  the  success  of  Michelan- 
gelo's statue  of  Christ  by  searching  out  these  vari- 
ous elements  in  it.  We  must  also  know  what  inci- 
dent the  artist  had  in  mind  of  which  the  work  is  an 
illustration,  so  to  speak. 

The  statue  is  called  in  Italian  Cristo  Risorto, 
that  is,  Christ  Risen  or  Triumphant,  because  the 
reference  is  to  a  circumstance  not  recorded  of  his 
earthly  career,  but  belonging  to  the  time  following 
his  resurrection.  It  is  connected  with  a  story  told 
by  St.  Ambrose  about  the  apostle  Peter.  St.  Peter, 
it  is  believed,  spent  the  latter  part  of  his  life  in 
Rome,  where  the  cruel  emperor,  Nero,  was  doing 
his  best  to  exterminate  the  Christians. 

"  After  the  burning  of  Rome,  Nero  threw  upon 
the  Christians  the  accusation  of  having  fired  the 
city.  This  was  the  origin  of  the  first  persecution, 
in  which  many  perished  by  terrible  and  hitherto  un- 
heard-of deaths.  The  Christian  converts  besought 
Peter  not  to  expose  his  life,  which  was  dear  and 
necessary  to  the  well-being  of  all ;  and  at  length  he 
consented  to  depart  from  Rome.  But  as  he  fled 
along  the  Appian  Way,  about  two  miles  from  the 
gates,  he  was  met  by  a  vision  of  our  Saviour,  travel- 
ling towards  the  city.  Struck  with  amazement,  he 
exclaimed,  '  Lord !  whither  goest  thou  ? .  (JDomine, 
quo  vadis  ?)  to  which  the  Saviour,  looking  upon 
him  with  a  mild  sadness,  replied,  '  I  go  to  Rome  to 
be  crucified  a  second  time/  and  vanished.     Peter, 


HBFNHHI 

^^^9£       1      i      /           I 

§liiiliBiiii8iisl&P                        *'*S 

John  Andrew  &  Son,  8c. 


CHRIST  TRIUMPHANT 
Church  of S.  Maria  sopra  Minerva,  Rome 


CHRIST  TRIUMPHANT  41 

taking  this  for  a  sign  that  he  was  to  submit  himself 
to  the  sufferings  prepared  for  him,  immediately 
turned  back,  and  reentered  the  city."  * 

It  is  this  visionary  figure  of  the  Christ,  appear- 
ing and  disappearing  before  the  eyes  of  Peter,  that 
Michelangelo  represents  in  the  statue.  He  carries 
a  cross  not  large  enough  for  an  actual  crucifixion, 
as  that  would  be  out  of  place  here,  but  tall  enough 
to  show  its  real  purpose.  He  has  also  the  long  reed 
and  the  sponge  which  the  soldier  used  to  give  him 
a  drink  of  vinegar  and  gall  when  he  thirsted  on  the 
cross.  A  bit  of  rope  is  a  reminder  of  the  scourging 
given  him  by  the  governor. 

All  these  things  he  carries  with  him  to  Rome  for 
a  fresh  martyrdom.  It  is  as  if  in  walking  along  the 
way  he  suddenly  meets  Peter,  and,  at  the  apostle's 
astonished  question,  he  pauses,  leaning  a  moment 
on  the  cross,  as  he  turns  gently  to  reply. 

Now  as  this  is  the  Christ  risen,  or  triumphant, 
the  Christ  who  has  conquered  death  and  the  grave, 
Michelangelo  wanted  to  do  all  he  could  to  make  a 
noble-looking  figure.  The  face  is  of  the  handsome 
type,  with  regular  features,  which  the  Italians  like 
to  give  to  their  ideal  of  Christ.  The  expression  of 
reproach  is  so  gentle  that  one  deserving  rebuke  may 
well  feel  ashamed  before  it. 

The  sorrow  in  the  face  is  such  as  Jesus  might 
nave  shown  as  he  turned  to  Judas  at  the  Last  Sup- 
per. The  gentleness  in  it  is  of  the  quality  so  at- 
tractive to  children.    There  is,  too,  something  of  the 

1  From  Mrs.  Jameson's  Sacred  and  Legendary  Art,  pages  200,  201. 


42  MICHELANGELO 

sympathetic  element  in  it  which  Mary  and  Martha 
found. 

The  countenance  is  not  without  intellectuality, 
though  it  scarcely  shows  the  keenness  which  the 
lawyers  found  it  hard  to  outwit.  It  has  rather  the 
refinement  of  a  lover  of  all  that  is  beautiful.  Nor 
is  there  much  in  expression  or  attitude  to  suggest 
the  more  commanding  qualities  of  Jesus.  These 
stronger  elements  the  statue  seems  to  lack. 

It  is  rather  puzzling  to  one  who  is  trying  to  form 
standards  of  taste  to  learn  that  critics  are  divided  in 
their  opinion  about  this  statue.  It  is,  therefore, 
well  to  know  that  Michelangelo  is  not  wholly  respon- 
sible for  the  work  as  we  now  see  it.  Though  he 
designed  and  began  it,  he  left  it  to  some  unskilful 
apprentices  to  finish.  The  effect  of  the  lines  is  in- 
jured by  the  bronze  drapery  which  was  added  later. 
A  bronze  sandal  has  also  been  put  on  the  right  foot 
to  protect  it,  as  it  had  become  much  worn  by  kisses. 

In  criticising  a  statue  one  must  always  remember 
that  it  is  best  seen  in  the  surroundings  for  which  it 
is  designed.  It  is  said,  even  by  one  who  does  not 
greatly  admire  Michelangelo's  Christ,  that  in  the 
dim  light  of  the  church  where  it  stands,  "  it  diffuses 
a  grace  and  sweetness  which  no  reproduction  ren- 
ders."1 

1  Symonds,  in  Life  of  Michelangelo  Buonarotti. 


VIII 

THE    CREATION    OF   MAN 

Science  has  long  been  trying  to  solve  the  problem 
of  the  origin  of  the  human  race.  Great  books  are 
published  by  learned  men  to  explain  how  the  being 
called  man  came  to  be  what  he  is.  But  centuries 
before  the  beginnings  of  science  a  wonderful  poem 
was  written  on  the  same  subject  of  the  creation. 
This  poem  is  called  Genesis,  that  is,  the  Birth  or 
Origin  of  things,  and  it  forms  a  part  of  the  first 
book  of  our  Bible.  Ever  since  it  was  written  it  has 
been  one  of  the  sacred  books  of  many  people. 

This  story  of  creation  was  once  the  favorite 
subject  of  artists.  In  the  period  before  the  inven- 
tion of  printing,  people  depended  for  their  in- 
struction upon  pictures  about  as  much  as  we  now 
do  upon  books.  Painters  sometimes  covered  the 
walls  and  ceiling  of  churches  with  illustrations  of 
the  book  of  Genesis,  transforming  them  into  huge 
picture-books,  from  which  the  worshippers  could 
learn  the  Bible  stories  which  they  were  unable  to 
read  in  books. 

Michelangelo  was  one  of  the  last  Italian  painters 
to  do  this,  and  he  profited  by  all  the  work  that  had 
been  done  before  to  make  the  grandest  series  of 
Genesis  illustrations  ever  produced.     It  is  from  this 


44  MICHELANGELO 

series  that  our  illustration  is  taken,  representing  the 
subject  of  the  Creation  of  Man.  The  painter  did 
not  try  to  follow  the  text  very  literally.  In  the 
book  of  Genesis  we  read  : 1  — 

"  And  God  said,  Let  us  make  man  in  our  image, 
after  our  likeness :  and  let  them  have  dominion  over 
the  fish  of  the  sea,  and  over  the  fowl  of  the  air,  and 
over  the  cattle,  and  over  all  the  earth,  and  ovei 
every  creeping  thing  that  creepeth  upon  the  earth. 

"  So  God  created  man  in  his  own  image,  in  the 
image  of  God  created  he  him.  .  .  .  And  the  Lord 
God  formed  man  of  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and 
breathed  into  his  nostrils  the  breath  of  life;  and 
man  became  a  living  soul." 

Michelangelo  takes  these  words,  and  expresses,  in 
his  own  way,  the  supreme  creative  moment  when 
"  man  became  a  living  soul." 

The  man  Adam  lies  on  a  jutting  promontory  of 
the  newly  made  land.  Though  his  body  is  formed, 
he  lacks  as  yet  the  inner  force  to  use  it ;  he  is  not 
yet  alive.  The  Creator  is  borne  along  on  a  swirling 
cloud  of  cherubs,  moving  forward  through  space 
like  a  rushing  mighty  wind.  Perhaps  the  painter 
was  thinking  of  the  psalmist's  beautiful  description 
of  God's  coming : 2  "  He  rode  upon  a  cherub,  and 
did  fly:  yea,  he  did  fly  upon  the  wings  of  the 
wind." 

In  His  fatherly  face  is  expressed  the  good  pur- 
pose  to  create  a  son  "in  his  own  image."     The 

1  Genesis,  chapter  i.  verses  26-27  ;  chapter  ii.  verse  7. 

2  Psalm  xviii.  verse  10. 


THE  CREATION  OF  MAN  47 

cherubic  host  accompanying  him  are  full  of  joy  and 

awe.     We  are  reminded  of  that  time  of  which  the 

poet  Milton  wrote/  when 

"All 
The  multitude  of  angels,  with  a  shout 
Loud  as  from  numbers  without  number,  sweet 
As  from  blest  voices,  uttering  joy,  —  Heaven  rung 
With  jubilee,  and  loud  hosannas  filled 
The  eternal  regions." 

The  sign  of  the  Almighty's  creative  power  is  the 
outstretched  arm  extended  towards  Adam  with  a 
superb  gesture  of  command.  As  if  in  answer  to 
the  divine  summons,  the  lifeless  figure  begins  to 
stir,  rising  slowly  to  a  sitting  posture.  The  face 
turns  towards  the  source  of  life  as  the  flower  turns 
to  the  sun.  The  eyes  are  lifted  to  the  Creator's 
with  a  wistful  yearning.  It  is  the  look  we  some- 
times see  in  the  eyes  of  a  woodland  creature  appeal- 
ing for  mercy.  It  is  such  a  look  as  might  belong 
to  that  imaginary  being  of  the  Greek  mythology, 
the  faun,  half  beast,  half  human.  Thus  Adam,  still 
but  half  created,  begins  to  feel  the  thrill  of  life 
in  his  members,  and  is  aroused  to  action.  He  lifts 
his  hand  to  meet  the  Creator's  outstretched  finger. 
The  current  of  life  is  established,  the  vital  spark  is 
communicated,  and  in  another  moment  Adam  will 
rise  in  his  full  dignity  as  a  human  soul. 

This  picture  was  painted  long  before  there  was 
any  knowledge  of  electricity,  of  electric  sparks,  and 
electric  currents.  Yet,  if  we  did  not  know  other- 
wise, we  might  fancy  that  Michelangelo  had  some 

1  Paradise  Lost,  book  ill.  lines  344-349. 


48  MICHELANGELO 

of  these  wonderful  ideas  of  modern  science  in  mind, 
as  the  symbols  of  the  great  thoughts  he  was  trying 
to  express. 

The  picture  suggests  to  our  latter  day  scientific 
imagination  that  God's  currents  of  power  move  as 
silently,  as  swiftly,  as  invisibly  and  mysteriously  as 
the  currents  of  electricity.  The  painter  meant  to 
show  that  the  work  of  creation  was  not  a  mechanical 
effort  of  the  Almighty,  but  that  with  him  a  gesture, 
a  word,  even  a  thought,  brings  something  into, 
being. 

The  series  of  which  this  picture  forms  a  part  is 
painted  in  fresco  on  the  ceiling  of  the  Sistine 
Chapel,  in  the  Pope's  palace  of  the  Vatican,  Rome. 
To  break  up  the  monotony  of  the  long  plain  surface 
he  had  to  decorate,  the  painter  divided  the  strip  of 
space  in  the  centre  into  nine  compartments.  These 
are  separated  from  each  other  by  a  painted  architec- 
tural framework,  so  cunningly  represented  that  it 
seems  to  project  from  the  ceiling  like  a  solid  struc- 
ture of  beams. 

Our  illustration  shows  a  portion  of  the  simulated 
framework  which  incloses  the  picture.  On  what 
appears  to  be  a  pedestal  at  each  corner  is  a  seated 
figure  representing  a  statue.  One  is  a  beautiful 
youth  with  a  horn  of  plenty,  and  the  other  is  a 
faun-like  creature  capering  gayly.  The  purpose  of 
these  figures  is  decorative,  like  those  in  the  back- 
ground of  the  Holy  Family. 


IX 

JEREMIAH 

Michelangelo's  decoration  of  the  Sistine  Chapel 
ceiling  did  not  stop  with  the  series  of  panels  run- 
ning along  the  flat  space  in  the  centre.  On  either 
side,  where  the  ceiling  arches  to  meet  the  side  walls, 
he  painted  a  row  of  figures,  which  seem  to  be  seated 
in  sculptured  niches.  There  are  twelve  of  these 
figures  in  all,  and  seven  of  them  are  Hebrew  pro- 
phets. 

The  prophets  were  holy  men  of  old,  who  walked 
with  God,  and  carried  his  messages  among  men. 
They  were  men  of  great  courage  and  conviction, 
fearlessly  denouncing  the  sins  of  their  times.  Some- 
times they  were  great  reformers,  bringing  about  by 
their  preaching  an  improved  condition  of  things. 
Often  their  mission  was  to  arouse  hope  in  discour- 
agement, to  strengthen  faith  in  a  happier  time  to 
come.  They  looked  forward  to  a  future  day,  when 
the  Prince  of  Peace  should  reign  in  the  earth. 

Jeremiah  was  a  prophet  of  Judah  during  the  cor- 
rupt and  troublous  times  in  the  reigns  of  Josiah, 
Jehoiakim,  and  Zedekiah.  He  has  been  compared 
by  a  recent  writer 1  to  "  a  Puritan  living  in  the  age 
of  the  Stuarts,  to  a  Huguenot  living  in  the  age  of 

1  Lyman  Abbott  in  Hebrew  Prophets  and  American  Problems. 


50  MICHELANGELO 

the  Medici,  or  a  Savonarola  living  in  the  age  of 
Pope  Alexander  VI."  He  was  born  in  Anathoth, 
a  little  village  of  Judaea,  and  being  the  son  of  a 
priest  was  consecrated  to  the  priesthood  from  birth. 

He  was  still  very  young  when  it  was  borne  in 
upon  him  that  to  be  loyal  to  God  he  must  stand 
forth  and  speak  the  truth  more  boldly  than  other 
priests  were  doing.  Shrinking  from  such  a  task, 
he  besought  God  to  spare  him.  "  Ah,  Lord  God  ! 
behold,  I  cannot  speak :  for  I  am  a  child." 

And  this,  writes  Jeremiah,  is  the  answer  he  re- 
ceived : *  "  Say  not,  I  am  a  child :  for  thou  shalt 
go  to  all  that  I  shall  send  thee,  and  whatsoever  I 
command  thee  thou  shalt  speak.  Be  not  afraid  of 
their  faces :  for  I  am  with  thee  to  deliver  thee? 
saith  the  Lord.  Then  the  Lord  put  forth  his  hand, 
and  touched  my  mouth.  And  the  Lord  said  unto 
me,  Behold,  I  have  put  my  words  in  thy  mouth. 
See,  I  have  this  day  set  thee  over  the  nations  and 
over  the  kingdoms,  to  root  out,  and  to  pull  down, 
and  to  destroy,  and  to  throw  down,  to  build,  and  to 
plant." 

Thus  Jeremiah  became  a  prophet,  and  from  that 
time  on  his  life  was  "one  long,  hopeless  protest 
against  folly  and  crime."  Earnestly  he  besought 
his  people  to  return  to  God  before  it  was  too  late: 
"  0  Jerusalem,  wash  thine  heart  from  wickedness, 
that  thou  mayest  be  saved ; " 2  but  prayers  and 
threats  were  alike  of  no  avail,  and  misfortunes  be- 
gan  to   afflict   the   land.      Then   Jeremiah   shows 

1  Jeremiah,  chapter  i.  verses  6-10.  2  Ibid.,  ch.  iv.  v.  14. 


John  Andrew  4  Son,  8c. 


JEREMIAH 

Sis  tine  Chapel,  Rome 


JEREMIAH  53 

himself  a  true  patriot.  Though  his  people  refused 
to  hear  him,  he  still  loves  them  and  pleads  their 
cause.  In  the  horror  of  famine,  he  prays  to  God 
in  their  behalf. 

There  are  times  even  in  the  midst  of  disappoint- 
ment when  Jeremiah  has  some  gleam  of  hope  for 
the  future.  He  predicts  the  days  when  "  a  King 
shall  reign  and  prosper,  and  shall  execute  judgment 
and  justice  in  the  earth." 1  Such  times  he  himself 
was  never  to  enjoy.  He  lived  to  see  the  Babylonian 
invasion,  Jerusalem  besieged  and  laid  waste,  and  his 
people  taken  captive.  The  reward  of  his  faithful 
warnings  was  to  be  cast  into  prison  by  the  ungrate- 
ful King  Zedekiah.  Finally  he  was  carried  by  the 
remnant  of  his  people  into  Egypt,  where  he  died  in 
a  sad  and  lonely  old  age. 

Once  in  a  moment  of  discouragement  early  in 
life,  his  grief  had  burst  forth  in  words  which  might 
well  express  the  feelings  of  his  old  age :  "  Oh 
that  my  head  were  waters,  and  mine  eyes  a  fountain 
of  tears,  that  I  might  weep  day  and  night  for  the 
slain  of  the  daughter  of  my  people  !  " 2 

All  the  pathos  of  these  words  is  conveyed  in 
Michelangelo's  wonderful  figure  of  Jeremiah.  The 
story  of  his  life  is  written  in  his  face  and  attitude. 
He  is  an  old  man,  with  long  gray  beard,  but  he  still 
has  the  splendid  vigor  which  comes  from  plain  and 
simple  living.  He  sits  with  bowed  head,  lost  in 
thought,  his  long  life  passing  in  review  before  his 

1  Jeremiah,  chapter  xxiii.  verse  5. 

2  Jeremiah,  chapter  ix.  verse  1. 


54  MICHELANGELO 

mind's  eye.  His  message  is  spoken,  his  race  is  run ; 
he  is  weary  of  life  and  longs  to  die.  There  is  some- 
thing inexpressibly  moving  in  his  profound  melan- 
choly. 

The  painter  has  placed  just  behind  the  prophet 
two  little  figures  which  are  like  attendant  spirits. 
They  seem  to  sympathize  with  Jeremiah's  sorrows. 
The  figures  ornamenting  the  sculptured  niche  re- 
mind us  of  those  in  the  background  of  the  Holy 
Family  and  have  a  similar  decorative  purpose. 

Those  who  have  studied  the  history  of  the  times 
in  which  Michelangelo  lived  may  find  in  this  figure 
of  Jeremiah  an  expression  of  the  artist's  own  char- 
acter. Like  the  old  Hebrew  prophet,  he  lived  in 
the  midst  of  a  corruption  which  he  was  helpless  to 
remedy,  and  which  saddened  his  inmost  soul.  His 
own  life  was  full  of  disappointments.  In  his  lonely 
old  age  he  wrote  a  sonnet,  which  is  not  unlike  some 
of  Jeremiah's  utterances,  and  which  is  a  clue  to  the 
meaning  of  the  picture  :  — 

"  Borne  to  the  utmost  brink  of  life's  dark  sea, 
Too  late  thy  joys  I  understand,  O  earth  ! 
How  thou  dost  promise  peace  which  cannot  be, 
And  that  repose  which  ever  dies  at  birth. 
The  retrospect  of  life  through  many  a  day, 
Now  to  its  close  attained  by  Heaven's  decree, 
Brings  forth  from  memory,  in  sad  arr^y, 
Only  old  errors,  fain  forgot  by  me,  — 
Errors  which  e'en,  if  long  life's  erring  day, 
To  soul  destruction  would  have  led  my  way. 
For  this  I  know  —  the  greatest  bliss  on  high 
Belongs  to  him  called  earliest  to  die." 


DANIEL 

In  striking  contrast  to  the  bowed  and  sorrowful 
old  prophet  Jeremiah  is  the  alert  and  eager  youth 
Daniel.  The  two  men  were  contemporaries,  though 
there  was  a  difference  in  their  ages.  When,  in  the 
reign  of  Jehoiakim,  the  Jews  were  taken  into  captiv- 
ity to  Babylon,  the  youth  Daniel  went  with  them,  while 
the  old  prophet  Jeremiah  was  left  behind.  Daniel 
was  chosen,  with  three  companions,  to  be  educated 
at  the  court  of  the  Babylonian  king,  Nebuchadnez- 
zar. They  were  taught  the  Chaldean  language  and 
the  sciences,  and  the  king  was  delighted  with  their 
progress. 

An  opportunity  soon  came  for  Daniel  to  be  of 
service  to  his  royal  patron.  Nebuchadnezzar  had  a 
strange  dream,  which  none  of  his  magicians  could 
interpret,  because,  unfortunately,  he  had  forgotten 
it.  In  his  anger  that  no  one  could  supply  the  lost 
memory,  he  commanded  to  destroy  all  the  wise  men 
of  Babylon.  But  Daniel  prayed  to  God  that  the 
secret  might  be  revealed  to  him. 

His  prayers  were  answered,  and  he  related  to  the 
king  not  only  just  what  the  dream  was,  but  the  full 
meaning  of  it :  *     "  Thou,  0  king,  sawest,  and  behold 

1  Daniel,  chapter  ii.  verses  31-35. 


56  MICHELANGELO 

a  great  image.  This  great  image,  whose  brightness 
was  excellent,  stood  before  thee;  and  the  form 
thereof  was  terrible.  This  image's  head  was  of  fine 
gold,  his  breast  and  his  arms  of  silver,  his  belly  and 
his  thighs  of  brass,  his  legs  of  iron,  his  feet  part  of 
iron  and  part  of  clay.  Thou  sawest  till  that  a  stone 
was  cut  out  without  hands,  which  smote  the  image 
upon  his  feet  that  were  of  iron  and  clay,  and  brake 
them  to  pieces.  .  .  .  And  the  stone  that  smote  the 
image  became  a  great  mountain,  and  filled  the  whole 
earth." 

In  Daniel's  interpretation  the  different  portions 
of  the  image  represented  the  different  kingdoms 
which  should  follow,  one  after  another,  in  the 
future.  The  stone  which  brake  the  image  in  pieces 
referred  to  the  final  kingdom  which  the  God  of 
heaven  shall  set  up,  "which  shall  never  be  de- 
stroyed," but  which  shall  stand  forever. 

From  this  time  forth  Daniel  became  a  seer.  He 
had  many  wonderful  visions  in  the  night,  and  inter- 
preted them  with  reference  to  future  historical 
events.  He  was  also  a  statesman,  the  king  having 
made  him  governor  of  the  province  as  a  reward  for 
his  services.  In  later  years  he  acted  as  viceroy  at  a 
time  when  the  king  was  insane. 

In  the  reign  of  Nebuchadnezzar's  successor,  Bel- 
shazzar,  Daniel  was  again  called  into  service  as  a 
seer.  One  night,  during  a  great  feast,  a  mysterious 
hand  appeared  to  write  some  inscription  on  the  wall, 
and  Daniel  alone  could  interpret  it.  The  message 
was   ominous,  but   the   prophet  spoke  out  boldly. 


Alinari,  Photo, 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  8c. 


DANIEL 

Sistine  Chapel,  Rome 


DANIEL  59 

"Mene,  Mene,  Tekel,  Upharsin,  ran  the  words, 
"  Thou  art  weighed  in  the  balances  and  art  found 
wanting."  Daniel  condemned  the  king  for  his  in- 
iquities, and  declared  that  his  kingdom  should  be 
divided  by  the  Medes  and  Persians.  That  very 
night  Belshazzar  was  slain,  and  Darius,  the  Median, 
took  the  kingdom. 

Under  the  new  dynasty  Daniel  was  given  so  much 
power  that  some  of  the  officials,  jealous  of  his  pre- 
ferment, plotted  against  him.  They  contrived  to 
persuade  King  Darius  to  sign  a  decree  that  "  who- 
soever should  ask  a  petition  of  any  god  or  man  for 
thirty  days,  save  of  the  king  himself,  should  be  cast 
into  the  den  of  lions."  The  officials  were  right  in 
supposing  that  this  would  entrap  Daniel  into  law- 
breaking,  for,  faithful  to  his  Hebrew  training,  he 
offered  prayer  to  God  three  times  a  day.  He  was 
therefore  cast  into  the  lions'  den,  but  no  harm  befell 
him,  because,  according  to  his  own  explanation,  God 
sent  his  angel  to  shut  the  lions'  mouths. 

Daniel  continued  to  hold  office  even  in  the  reign 
of  the  next  king,  Cyrus  the  Persian.  He  lived  to  a 
great  old  age,  but  he  was  so  young  when  he  first 
showed  his  prophetic  gifts  that  it  is  natural  to  think 
of  him  in  his  youth  as  Michelangelo  has  represented 
him.  It  would  seem  that  the  artist  had  in  mind 
Daniel's  early  years  of  education  at  court.  On  his 
lap  is  a  large  open  book  supported  on  the  back  of  a 
tiny  figure  standing  between  his  knees.  This  may 
represent  a  volume  of  Chaldean  learning.  His  pos- 
ture shows  that  he  has  been  consulting  the  volume, 


60  MICHELANGELO 

and  now  turns  to  his  writing  tablets  to  record  his 
own  thoughts. 

His  broad  forehead  shows  him  to  be  a  student 
and  a  thinker.  The  waving  hair  is  brushed  back 
to  form  an  aureole  about  his  face.  It  is  the  face  of 
a  dreamer  in  a  moment  of  inspiration.  Eagerly  he 
writes  his  words  of  mingled  poetry  and  prophecy. 
He  is  full  of  youthful  enthusiasm  for  his  work,  a 
nature  fitted  for  action  as  well  as  for  vision.  He 
has  also  the  spirited  bearing  of  one  who  fears 
neither  the  rage  of  a  lion  nor  the  wrath  of  a  king. 
There  is  a  breezy  energy  in  his  motions,  as  if 
thoughts  came  more  swiftly  than  he  could  tran- 
scribe them. 

His  expression  of  happy  anticipation  is  in  vivid 
contrast  to  Jeremiah's  sorrowful  attitude  of  retro- 
spection. The  picture  brings  out  clearly  the  fact 
that  the  keynote  of  Daniel's  prophecy  is  hope. 
Looking  into  his  rapt  face,  we  may  imagine  that 
this  is  the  message  he  is  writing :  "  They  that  be 
wise  shall  shine  as  the  brightness  of  the  firmament ; 
and  they  that  turn  many  to  righteousness,  as  the 
stars  forever  and  ever." 1 

1  Daniel,  chapter  xii.  verse  3. 


XI 

THE    DELPHIC    SIBYL 


In  the  rows  of  figures  which  Michelangelo  painted 
along  the  arched  portion  of  the  ceiling  of  the  Sis- 
tine  Chapel,  the  prophets  are  associated  with  sibyls. 
Hence,  in  the  plan  of  decoration,  there  comes  first 
the   figure  of  a  man,  and   then    the   figure  of  a 


woman 


Now,  as  the  Bible  contains  no  allusion  to  sibyls, 
it  may  seem  strange  that  they  should  have  a  place 
in  a  series  of  Bible  illustrations,  and  especially  that 
they  should  appear  side  by  side  with  the  prophets. 
To  explain  this,  we  must  learn  something  about  the 
sibyls. 

They  were  women  of  ancient  times  supposed  to 
have  supernatural  gifts  of  foretelling  the  future. 
They  devoted  themselves  to  solitude  and  meditation, 
and  sometimes  lived  apart  in  caves  or  grottoes. 
Sometimes  they  were  connected  with  temples,  and 
delivered  what  were  supposed  to  be  the  messages  of 
the  gods  to  the  worshippers.  These  messages  were 
called  oracles,  and  were  greatly  revered  by  the  peo- 
ple who  consulted  the  gods. 

Some  of  the  sibyls'  words  of  wisdom  were  com- 
mitted to  writing  and  passed  down  to  following 
generations.     Though  they  lived  in  heathen  coun- 


62  MICHELANGELO 

tries,  the  tradition  ran  that  they  prophesied  the 
advent  of  Christ.  There  is  a  passage  in  one  of 
Virgil's  eclogues  (the  fourth)  upon  which  the  sup- 
position is  based.  Early  in  the  Christian  era,  when 
men  were  spreading  the  new  faith,  they  made  much 
of  these  sibylline  prophecies  to  add  weight  to  their 
teachings. 

In  former  times,  fact  and  fable  were  very  often 
confused,  and  people  did  not  take  pains  to  distin- 
guish the  legends  of  the  sibyls  from  the  history  of 
the  prophets.  When  the  Latin  hymn  "  Dies  Irae  " 
was  written,  the  sibyl  was  mentioned,  with  the 
prophet,  as  predicting  the  final  destruction  of  the 
world.  Many  painters  and  sculptors  gave  the  two 
equal  honor  in  the  same  way.  In  the  prevailing 
opinion,  the  sibyls  shared  with  the  prophets  an  in- 
spired foreknowledge  of  the  Christian  faith. 

The  nine  main  panels  of  Michelangelo's  ceiling 
decoration  show  how  man  was  created,  and  how 
he  was  tempted  and  fell  into  sin.  To  carry  on  still 
further  the  story  of  the  human  race,  the  painter 
shows  the  succession  of  men  and  women,  prophets 
and  sibyls,  who,  one  after  another,  predicted  the 
redemption  of  the  world  in  Christ.  On  the  side 
walls,  below  these  figures,  the  story  is  carried  to 
completion  in  a  series  of  pictures  illustrating  the 
life  of  Christ.  The  last  named  frescoes  were  painted 
by  various  artists  some  years  before  Michelangelo's 
work  on  the  ceiling. 

The  number  of  sibyls  was  given  as  ten  or  twelve, 
and  of  these  Michelangelo  selected  five.     His  idea 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  So. 


THE  DELPHIC  SIBYL 
Sistine  Chapel,  Rome 


THE   DELPHIC   SIBYL  65 

here,  as  with  the  prophets,  seemed  to  be  to  represent 
some  in  old  age  and  some  in  youth. 

The  Delphic  sibyl  is  the  youngest  and  most  beau- 
tiful of  them  all.  She  presided  over  the  temple  of 
Apollo  in  the  Greek  town  of  Delphi,  where  it  was 
long  customary  for  the  priestess,  or  pythia,  as  she 
was  called,  to  be  a  young  woman  selected  from  some 
family  of  poor  country  people. 

The  temple  at  Delphi  was  one  of  great  celebrity. 
In  the  centre  was  a  small  opening  in  the  ground, 
whence  arose  an  intoxicating  vapor,  and  over  this 
sat  the  pythia,  on  a  three-legged  seat,  or  tripod,  and 
delivered  the  oracle  communicated  to  her  by  the 
god.     These  oracles  were  delivered  in  verse. 

The  Delphic  sibyl,  or  pythia,  of  Michelangelo's 
picture,  has  the  splendid  stature  of  an  Amazon. 
Her  head  is  draped  with  a  sort  of  Greek  turban, 
beneath  which  her  hair  escapes  in  flying  curls.  Her 
face  and  expression  show  her  at  once  to  be  unlike 
an  ordinary  woman.  She  has  the  look  of  a  startled 
fawn,  which  has  suddenly  heard  the  call  of  a  distant 
voice.  She  turns  her  head  in  the  attitude  of  one 
listening.  She  looks  far  away  with  eyes  that  see 
visions,  but  what  those  visions  are  none  can  guess. 
There  are  other  pictures  of  the  same  sibyl  carrying 
a  crown  of  thorns,  showing  that  she  predicted  the 
sufferings  of  Christ.  Perhaps  this  is  the  meaning 
of  the  sorrowful  expression  in  these  wide  eyes. 

The  scroll  which  she  unrolls  in  her  left  hand  is 
the  scroll  of  her  prophecy.  The  two  little  figures 
holding  a  book,  just  behind  her  right  shoulder,  are 


66  MICHELANGELO 

genii,  or  spirits,  symbolic  of  her  inspiration.  One 
reads  eagerly  from  the  volume  while  the  other  lis- 
tens with  rapt  attention. 

The  picture  makes  a  very  interesting  study  in  the 
composition  of  lines.  Starting  from  the  topmost 
point  of  the  turban,  draw  a  line  on  the  right,  com- 
ing across  the  shoulder  along  the  outer  edge  of  the 
drapery  to  the  toe.  On  the  left,  let  the  line  con- 
necting the  same  two  points  follow  the  outer  curve 
of  the  scroll,  along  the  slanting  edge  of  the  mantle, 
and  we  get  a  beautiful  pointed  oval  as  the  basis  of 
the  composition. 

The  sibyl's  left  arm  drops  a  curve  across  the 
upper  part  of  the  figure,  and  this  curve  is  repeated 
a  little  lower  down  by  the  creases  in  the  drapery 
across  the  lap.  Such  are  the  few  strong,  simple 
lines  which  compose  the  picture,  producing  an  effect 
of  grandeur  which  a  confusion  of  many  lines  would 
entirely  spoil. 


XII 

THE    CUM^EAN    SIBYL 

Of  all  the  sibyls,  the  one  we  hear  most  about  is 
the  Cumsean.  The  legend  runs  that,  having  asked 
a  boon  of  Apollo,  she  gathered  a  handful  of  sand 
and  said,  "  Grant  me  to  see  as  many  birthdays  as 
there  are  sand  grains  in  my  hand."  The  wish  was 
gratified,  but  unluckily  she  forgot  to  ask  for  endur- 
ing youth,  so  she  was  doomed  to  live  a  thousand 
years  in  a  withered  old  age.  Thus  we  always  think 
of  her  as  an  old  woman,  as  Michelangelo  has  repre- 
sented her. 

She  is  called  the  Cumsean  sibyl  because  she  is 
supposed  to  have  lived  in  Cumae,  which  was  the 
oldest  and  one  of  the  most  important  of  the  Greek 
colonies  in  Italy.  Her  real  name,  we  are  told,  was 
Demos.  She  lived  in  a  great  cavern,  where  the 
people  came  to  consult  her,  and  her  answers  to  their 
questions  were  regarded  as  oracles,  or  answers  from 
the  deities.  She  used  to  write  on  the  leaves  of  trees 
the  names  and  fates  of  different  persons,  arranging 
them  in  her  cave  to  be  read  by  her  votaries.  Some- 
times the  wind  sweeping  through  the  cavern  scat- 
tered the  leaves  broadcast  through  the  world. 

The  manner  of  consulting  her  is  fully  described 
by  the  Latin  poet  Virgil  in  the  sixth  book  of  the 


68  MICHELANGELO 

iEneid.  He  tells  how  iEneas,  arriving  with  his 
fellow  voyagers  at  the  town  of  Cumse,  immediately 
goes  to  the  temple  of  Apollo, 

"  And  seeks  the  cave  of  wondrous  size, 
The  sibyl's  dread  retreat, 
The  sibyl,  whom  the  Delian  seer 
Inspires  to  see  the  future  clear, 
And  fills  with  frenzy's  heat ; 
The  grove  they  enter,  and  behold 
Above  their  heads  the  roof  of  gold. 

"  Within  the  mountain's  hollow  side, 
A  cavern  stretches  high  and  wide  ; 
A  hundred  entries  thither  lead  ; 
A  hundred  voices  thence  proceed, 
Each  uttering  forth  the  sibyl's  rede. 
The  sacred  threshold  now  they  trod  : 
*Pray  for  an  answer  !  pray  !  the  god,' 
She  cries,  '  the  god  is  nigh  ! ' 

"  And  as  before  the  door  in  view 
She  stands,  her  visage  pales  its  hue, 
Her  locks  dishevelled  fly, 
Her  breath  comes  thick,  her  wild  heart  glows. 
Dilating  as  the  madness  grows, 
Her  form  looks  larger  to  the  eye ; 
Unearthly  peals  her  deep-toned  cry, 
As,  breathing  nearer  and  more  near, 
The  god  comes  rushing  on  his  seer." 

iEneas  now  begs  a  favor  of  the  sibyl.  He  has 
heard  that  here  the  path  leads  downward  to  the 
dead,  and  he  desires  to  go  thither  to  visit  his  father, 
Anchises.  There  are  certain  conditions  to  fulfil 
before  setting  forth,  but  when  these  are  done  the 
sibyl  guides  him  on  his  way,  and  the  journey  is 
safely  made. 


Alin»ri,  Photo. 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  He. 


THE  CUMiEAN  SIBYL 
Sistine  Chapel,  Rome 


THE  CUM^AN  SIBYL  71 

Another  legend  of  the  Cumaean  sibyl  has  to  do 
with  the  Roman  emperor  Tarquin.  The  sibyl  came 
to  him  one  day  with  nine  books  of  oracles,  which 
she  wished  him  to  buy.  The  price  was  exorbitant, 
and  the  emperor  refused  her  demand.  She  then 
went  away,  burned  three  of  the  books,  and,  return- 
ing with  the  remaining  six,  made  the  same  demand. 
Again  her  offer  was  refused,  and  again  she  burned 
three  books  and  returned,  still  requiring  the  original 
price  for  the  three  that  were  left.  Tarquin  now 
consulted  the  soothsayers,  and,  acting  upon  their 
advice,  bought  the  books,  which  were  found  to  con- 
tain directions  concerning  the  religion  and  policy  of 
Rome. 

For  many  years  they  were  held  sacred,  and  were 
carefully  preserved  in  the  temple  of  Jupiter  in  the 
Capitol,  under  the  care  of  official  guardians.  At 
length  the  temple  was  destroyed  by  fire,  and  the 
original  sibylline  books  perished.  In  the  following 
centuries  they  were  replaced  by  scattered  papers, 
collected  from  time  to  time  in  various  parts  of  the 
empire,  purporting  to  be  the  writings  of  the  sibyl. 
These  sibylline  leaves,  as  they  were  called,  contained 
passages  supposed  to  be  prophetic  of  the  coming  of 
Christ,  and  this  is  why  the  Cumaean  sibyl  is  placed 
by  Michelangelo  among  the  prophets. 

The  sibyl  is  reading  aloud  from  one  of  her  books 
of  oracles.  The  two  little  genii  standing  behind 
her  shoulder,  and  listening  with  absorbed  attention, 
hold  another  book,  not  yet  unclasped,  ready  for  her. 
She  reads  her  prophecy  with  keen,  searching  eyes, 


72  MICHELANGELO 

and  a  manner  that  is  almost  stern.  We  can  see  in 
the  large,  strong  features  the  determination  of  her 
character. 

It  is  not  a  gentle  face,  and  not  pleasing,  but  it  is 
full  of  meaning.  We  read  there  the  record  of  the 
centuries  which  have  passed  over  her  head,  bringing 
her  the  deep  secrets  of  life.  Yet  the  prophecies 
are  still  unfulfilled,  and  there  is  a  look  of  unsatisfied 
longing  in  her  wrinkled  old  face. 

You  will  notice  that  the  outlines  of  the  Cumsean 
sibyl  are  drawn  in  an  oval  figure  similar  to  that 
inclosing  the  Delphic  sibyl.  Here,  however,  the 
oval  is  of  a  more  elongated  form,  and  the  left  side 
is  broken  midway  by  the  introduction  of  the  book. 

The  old  writer  Pausanias,  writing  his  "Descrip- 
tion of  Greece/'  in  the  second  century,  says  that  the 
people  of  Cumse  showed  a  small  stone  urn  in  the 
temple  of  Apollo  containing  the  ashes  of  the  sibyl. 
For  many  centuries  her  cavern  was  pointed  out  to 
travellers  in  a  rock  under  the  citadel  of  Cumse. 
Finally  the  fortifications  of  the  city  were  under- 
mined, but  to  this  day  a  subterranean  passage  in 
the  rock  on  which  they  were  built  is  still  shown  as 
the  entrance  to  the  sibyl's  cave. 


XIII 


LORENZO    BE'    MEDICI 


The  statue  of  Lorenzo  de'  Medici  is  the  central 
figure  on  the  tomb  erected  to  the  memory  of  this 
prince.  He  was  the  rather  unworthy  namesake  of 
his  illustrious  grandfather,  who  was  known  as 
Lorenzo  the  Magnificent.  The  Medici  family  was 
for  many  generations  the  richest  and  most  powerful 
in  Florence.  They  were  originally  merchants,  and, 
as  the  name  signifies,  physicians,  and,  accumulating 
great  wealth,  they  became  powerful  leaders,  and 
really  the  rulers  of  the  republic. 

Some  of  them  were  munificent  patrons  of  art  and 
literature.  There  was  one  named  Cosimo,  who  did 
so  much  to  make  his  city  famous  that  he  was  called 
Pater  Patriae,  the  father  of  the  country,  as  was, 
centuries  afterwards,  our  own  Washington.  His 
grandson  Lorenzo  won  the  title  of  the  Magnificent 
for  his  lavish  generosity  and  superb  plans  for  the 
advancement  of  art  and  learning.  So  much  power 
could  not  safely  be  in  the  hands  of  a  single  family. 
The  Medici,  from  being  benefactors,  finally  became 
tyrants. 

The  Lorenzo  of  this  statue  was  one  of  the  more 
insignificant  members  of  the  family.  It  is  said  that 
"  he  inherited  the  vices  without  the  genius  of  the 


74  MICHELANGELO 

family,  and  was  ambitious,  unscrupulous,  and  dissi- 
pated. His  uncle,  Pope  Leo  X.,  after  depriving  the 
Duke  of  Urbino  of  his  hereditary  domains,  bestowed 
them,  with  the  title  of  duke,  on  Lorenzo,  whom  he 
also  made  general  of  the  pontifical  forces." 1  In 
1518  Leo  united  him  in  marriage  to  a  French  prin- 
cess, and  their  daughter  was  the  afterwards  cele- 
brated Catharine  de'  Medici,  queen  of  the  French 
king,  Henry  II.  These  are  the  main  facts  in  the 
life  of  a  man  who  is  remembered  only  because  he 
had  illustrious  ancestors,  a  famous  daughter,  and  a 
superb  tomb. 

It  mattered  nothing  to  Michelangelo  that  he  had 
so  poor  a  subject  for  a  statue.  It  is  supposed  that 
he  made  no  attempt  at  correct  portraiture  in  the 
figure.  The  insignificant  Lorenzo  was  transformed 
by  the  magic  of  his  genius  into  a  hero. 

He  wears  a  suit  of  Roman  armor,  in  accordance 
with  his  career  as  a  general  in  the  wars  with  the 
Duke  of  Urbino,  whose  title  he  took.  His  helmet 
is  pulled  well  forward  over  the  brow,  the  head  is 
bent,  the  cheek  rests  upon  the  left  hand,  the  elbow 
supported  on  a  casket  placed  on  the  knee.  With 
finger  laid  thoughtfully  upon  the  lips,  he  is  thinking 
intently.  The  right  hand  rests,  palm  out,  against 
the  knee  in  a  characteristic  position  of  inaction. 

His  mood  is  not  that  of  a  dreamer  lost  to  his  pre- 
sent surroundings.  Rather  he  seems  to  be  keenly 
aware  of  what  is  going  on ;  his  meditations  have  to 
do  with  the  present.  It  is  as  if,  having  given  an 
order,  he  awaits  its  execution,  his  mind  still  intent 

1  Susan  and  Joanna  Horner's  Walks  in  Florence,  vol.  i.  p.  125. 


Alinari,  Photo. 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  8c. 


LORENZO  DE'  MEDICI 
Church  of  S.  Lorenzo,  Florence 


LORENZO  DE'  MEDICI  77 

upon  his  purposes,  satisfied  with  his  decision,  and 
calmly  expectant  of  its  success.  His  affair  is  one  of 
serious  importance;  no  trifling  matter  absorbs  the 
thought  of  this  grave  man.  "  A  king  sits  in  this  at- 
titude when,  in  the  midst  of  his  army,  he  orders  the 
execution  of  some  judicial  act,  like  the  destruction 
of  a  city.  Frederic  Barbarossa  must  have  appeared 
thus  when  he  caused  Milan  to  be  ploughed  up."  1 

The  lack  of  resemblance  in  the  statue  to  the 
original  duke  Lorenzo  made  it  for  a  long  time 
doubful  whether  it  was  intended  to  be  his  tomb. 
The  Florentines,  in  their  poetic  way,  fell  into  the 
habit  of  calling  it  II  Pensiero,  that  is,  Thought,  or 
Meditation,  sometimes  II  Pensieroso,  The  Thinker. 
These  are,  after  all,  the  best  names  for  the  statue, 
which  is  allegorical  rather  than  historical  in  its  in- 
tention. The  great  English  poet  Milton  has  writ- 
ten a  poem,  which  is  like  a  companion  piece  to  the 
statue,  fitting  it  as  words  sometimes  fit  music.  It 
begins  in  this  way,  in  words  which  II  Pensieroso 
himself  might  speak  :  — 

"  Hence,  vain  deluding  Joys, 
The  brood  of  Folly,  without  father  bred  ! 
How  little  you  bested, 
Or  fill  the  fixed  mind  with  all  your  toys  ! 
Dwell  in  some  idle  brain, 
And  fancies  fond  with  gaudy  shape  possess, 
As  thick  and  numberless 
As  the  gay  motes  that  people  the  sunbeams, 
Or  likest  hovering  dreams, 
The  fickle  pensioners  of  Morpheus'  train. 
But  hail !  thou  Goddess  sage  and  holy, 
Hail,  divinest  Melancholy  !  " 

1  Taine,  Travels  in  Italy. 


78  MICHELANGELO 

Lorenzo's  statue  stands  in  a  niche  above  the  sar- 
cophagus, or  stone  coffin,  in  which  his  body  was 
laid.  On  the  top  of  the  sarcophagus  are  two  reclin- 
ing figures  called  Dawn  and  Twilight.  The  tomb 
itself  is  in  a  chapel,  or  sacristy,  called  the  New 
Sacristy  (to  distinguish  it  from  one  still  older),  in 
the  Church  of  S.  Lorenzo,  Florence.  The  entire 
sacristy  is  devoted  to  the  memory  of  the  Medici 
family,  who  had  for  several  generations  been  bene- 
factors of  this  church. 

Now  Michelangelo  had  a  great  deal  to  do  with 
this  family  first  and  last,  and  his  work  on  the  tomb 
has  an  additional  interest  on  this  account.  It  was 
to  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent  that  he  owed  his  first 
start  as  a  sculptor  in  an  academy  founded  by  this 
prince.  He  so  pleased  his  patron  that  he  was  re- 
ceived into  the  duke's  own  household,  and  treated 
almost  like  a  son.  Years  passed ;  Lorenzo  had  long 
been  dead,  when,  one  after  another,  two  members  of 
the  same  family  came  to  the  papal  throne,  and  they 
desired  to  honor  their  name  by  employing  the  great- 
est sculptor  of  Italy  in  this  monumental  work. 

So  Michelangelo  began  designs  for  the  sacristy, 
the  entire  decoration  of  which  was  intrusted  to  him. 
The  walls  of  the  rooms  were  panelled  with  marble, 
set  with  niches,  in  the  form  of  windows,  in  which 
the  statues  were  to  be  placed. 

As  the  work  proceeded,  it  was  interrupted  by 
some  strange  incidents,  of  which  we  shall  hear  later. 
The  whole  plan  was  never  fully  carried  out,  but  in 
spite  of  incompleteness  the  chapel  is  a  grand  and 
impressive  place. 


XIV 

THE    TOMB    OF    GIULIANO    Db'    MEDICI 

The  tomb  of  Giuliano  de'  Medici  is  the  companion 
to  the  tomb  of  Lorenzo,  and  stands  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  altar  which  separates  them.  Our  illus- 
tration shows  the  entire  work,  the  statue  being  in 
the  niche  above,  and  the  sarcophagus  standing  below 
with  two  reclining  figures  on  it. 

Giuliano  de'  Medici,  duke  of  Nemours,  was  the 
youngest  son  of  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent,  and  con- 
sequently the  uncle  of  the  younger  Lorenzo.  In 
reality  he  was  greatly  superior  to  his  nephew,  but 
curiously  enough  his  appearance  in  Michelangelo's 
statue  is  more  commonplace,  though  his  attitude  is 
graceful.  He  was  a  thoughtful  man,  somewhat 
melancholy  in  disposition,  and  the  author  of  a  poem 
on  suicide.  He  wears  the  costume  of  a  Roman 
general,  but  his  small  head  and  slender  throat  are 
not  those  of  a  warrior. 

You  will  notice  that  the  attitude  of  the  duke 
Giuliano  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  Moses. 
Both  sit  with  left  foot  drawn  back  and  right  knee 
extended.  Both  turn  the  head  in  profile,  looking 
intently  toward  the  left.  In  either  case  it  is  easy  to 
imagine  the  figure  suddenly  springing  up. 

Now  this  fact  emphasizes  the  difference  we  have 


80  MICHELANGELO 

already  noted  between  the  sculpture  of  Michelangelo 
and  that  of  the  Greeks.  The  leading  idea  in  Greek 
sculpture  was  that  of  repose,  while,  as  we  have  seen 
in  the  David  and  the  Cupid,  Michelangelo  chose  for 
his  figures  a  moment  of  action.  To  give  this  sug- 
gestion of  motion  to  a  seated  figure  is  even  more 
remarkable  than  in  the  case  of  one  standing,  for  the 
sitting  posture  naturally  has  an  effect  of  stability. 

The  reclining  figures  on  the  sarcophagus  of  the 
Duke  Giuliano  represent  Night  and  Day,  and  are 
supposed  to  be  symbolic  of  death  and  resurrection. 
Night  is  a  woman  lying  with  head  sunk  upon  the 
breast  in  a  deep  sleep.  She  is  crowned  with  a  cres- 
cent moon  and  star,  and  an  owl  is  placed  at  her  feet. 
The  mask  beneath  her  pillow  symbolizes  the  body 
from  which  the  spirit  has  departed.  Though  the 
figure  is  not  beautiful  in  the  Greek  sense,  it  is  grand 
and  queenly.  Opposite  is  Day,  an  unfinished  cap- 
tive, his  head  half  freed  from  the  stone,  the  arms 
rigid,  the  body  contorted. 

These  two  figures,  together  with  Dawn  and  Twi- 
light on  Lorenzo's  tomb,  have  an  allegorical  meaning 
which  must  be  read  in  the  light  of  Michelangelo's 
own  life  history.  "  Life  is  a  dream  between  two 
slumbers ;  sleep  is  death's  twin-brother ;  night  is  the 
shadow  of  death ;  death  is  the  gate  of  life  —  such 
is  the  mysterious  mythology  wrought  by  the  sculp- 
tor."1 

The  work  on  the  Medicean  tombs  covered  a  period 
of  about  twelve  years.     During  this  time  the  Medici 

1  Symonds,  in  Renaissance  in  Italy :  the  Fine  Arts. 


/    \ 


Alinari,  Photo. 


John  Andrew  &  Son,  So. 


TOMB  OF  GIULIANO  DE'  MEDICI 

Church  of  S.  Lorenzo,  Florence 


THE  TOMB  OF  GIULIANO  DE'  MEDICI  83 

family  passed  through  varying  fortunes,  and  in  con- 
sequence the  fate  of  the  tombs,  and  indeed  that  of 
the  sculptor  himself,  hung  in  the  balance.  Florence 
became  weary  of  tyranny  and  rose  in  a  revolution 
which  drove  the  Medici  from  the  city  in  1527. 

Success  was  of  short  duration  :  the  republic  soon 
"found  herself  standing  out  against  a  world  of 
foes,"  the  Pope,  Clement  VII.  (himself  a  Medici), 
"  threatening  fire  and  flame,"  and  all  the  Medici 
family  "  getting  ready  to  return  in  double  force." 
The  Florentines  prepared  to  fight  for  their  liberty, 
and  Michelangelo  was  found  among  the  patriots. 
No  sense  of  personal  gratitude  to  the  Medici  could 
shake  his  love  of  liberty.  He  forsook  the  monu- 
ments and  turned  his  skill  to  the  fortification  of  the 
city. 

For  eleven  months  Florence  was  besieged,  and  in 
the  end  the  city  was  captured.  The  Medici  returned 
conquerors.  Mercenaries  now  broke  into  the  houses, 
killing  the  best  citizens.  Had  not  Michelangelo 
been  in  hiding,  he  too  would  have  perished.  But 
the  Pope  could  not  afford  to  lose  his  best  sculptor, 
and,  calling  him  forth  from  his  hiding-place,  again 
set  him  to  work  in  the  Medici  chapel.  It  is  not 
strange  that  the  sculptor's  proud  spirit  rebelled  at 
having  to  work  on  that  which  was  to  honor  the  ene- 
mies of  his  beloved  Florence. 

Thus  it  was  that  his  sculpture  told  the  story  of 
"  the  tragedy  of  Florence :  how  hope  had  departed, 
how  life  had  become  a  desert,  and  how  it  was  hard 
to  struggle  with  waking  consciousness,  but  good  to 


84  MICHELANGELO 


sleep  and  forget  —  nay,  best  of  all,  to  be  stone  and 
feel  no  more." 

The  old  writer  Vasari,  who  was  once  a  pnpil  of 
Michelangelo,  and  tells  us  many  anecdotes  of  the 
sculptor,  relates  that  when  the  statue  of  Night  was 
first  shown  to  the  public,  it  called  forth  a  verse  from 
a  contemporary  poet  (Giovan  Battista  Strozzi). 
This  is  the  verse :  — 

"  Night  in  so  sweet  an  attitude  beheld 
Asleep,  was  by  an  angel  sculptured 
In  this  stone;  and  sleeping,  is  alive; 
Waken  her,  doubter;  she  will  speak  to  thee."  x 

To  this  Michelangelo  replied  in  the  following 
lines : 2  — 

"  Welcome  is  sleep,  more  welcome  sleep  of  stone 
Whilst  crime  and  shame  continue  in  the  land; 
My  happy  fortune  not  to  see  or  hear; 
Waken  me  not;  —  in  mercy  whisper  low."1 

.  .  The  artist's  verse  may  be  taken  as  a  keynote  to 
t  the  solemn  tragedy  of  the  work.  In  fact,  the  monu- 
ments are  not  really  to  Lorenzo  and  Giuliano,  but 
to  Florence,  to  "  the  great  city  which  had  struggled 
and  erred  so  long,  which  had  gone  astray  and  re- 
pented, and  suffered  and  erred  again,  but  always 
mightily,  with  full  tide  of  life  in  her  veins  and  con- 
sciousness in  her  heart,  until  now  the  time  had  come 
when  she  was  dead  and  past,  chained  down  by  icy 
oppression  in  a  living  grave."  3 

1  Both  translations  are  from  Homers'  Walks  in   Florence.     Sy 
monds  has  also  translated  the  verses,  but  less  literally. 

2  Swinburne  in  his  lines,  "  In  San  Lorenzo,"  answers  these  linelr 
"Is  thine  hour  come  to  waken,  slumbering  Night?" 

8  This   and   the   preceding  quotations  are  from  Mrs.  Oliphant' ' 
Makers  of  Florence. 


XV 

CENTRAL   FIGURES   IN   THE   LAST  JUDGMENT 

There  are  in  the  Bible  certain  references  to  a 
great  day  when  the  Son  of  Man  shall  be  seen  "  com- 
ing in  the  clouds  with  great  power  and  glory." 
"  And  he  shall  send  his  angels  with  a  great  sound 
of  a  trumpet,  and  they  shall  gather  together  his 
elect  from  the  four  winds,  from  one  end  of  heaven 
to  the  other." 1  St.  Paul,  in  a  letter  which  he  wrote 
to  the  Christians  in  Corinth,  speaks  of  this  as  a 
"  mystery,"  and  says  : 2  "  We  shall  not  all  sleep,  but 
we  shall  all  be  changed,  in  a  moment,  in  the  twin- 
kling of  an  eye,  at  the  last  trump :  for  the  trumpet 
shall  sound,  and  the  dead  shall  be  raised  incorrupt- 
ible, and  we  shall  be  changed." 

In  the  Middle  Ages  these  passages  were  interpreted 
very  literally  and  had  a  great  influence  over  the 
people.  At  that  time  the  Christian  religion  was  a 
religion  of  fear  rather  than  of  love,  and  men  were 
continually  picturing  in  their  minds  God's  angry 
separation  of  the  good  from  the  wicked. 

How  much  such  thoughts  occupied  them  we  may 
see  from  Dante's  great  poem  describing  a  vision  of 

1  Matthew,  chapter  xxiv.  verse  31. 

2  1  Corinthians,  chapter  xv.  verses  51,  52. 


86  MICHELANGELO 

the  Inferno,  Purgatory,  and  Paradise.  This  was 
written  in  the  thirteenth  century,  and  in  the  same 
period  appeared  a  short  Latin  lyric,  or  hymn,  called 
"  Dies  Irae,"  or  the  Day  of  Wrath,  from  an  expres- 
sion used  hy  the  old  Hebrew  prophet  Zephaniah. 
The  author  was  a  Franciscan  monk  named  Thomas 
of  Celano,  and  we  may  see  how  deeply  he  felt  from 
these  verses :  — 

"  Ah  !  what  terror  is  impending 
When  the  Judge  is  seen  descending, 
And  each  secret  veil  is  rending. 

"  To  the  throne,  the  trumpet  sounding, 
Through  the  sepulchres  resounding, 
Summons  all,  with  voice  astounding. 

"  Sits  the  Judge,  the  raised  arraigning, 
Darkest  mysteries  explaining, 
Nothing  unavenged  remaining." 

This  vivid  word  picture  forms  the  subject  of  many 
great  paintings  by  the  older  Italian  masters,  known 
under  the  title  of  the  Last  Judgment.  Michelan- 
gelo's was  one  of  the  last  of  these,  and  in  general 
arrangement  his  composition  resembles  those  of  his 
predecessors. 

From  the  upper  air  a  company  of  angels  descends, 
carrying  a  cross,  a  crown  of  thorns,  and  other  instru- 
ments of  the  Saviour's  sufferings.  Below  them  is 
the  Judge  himself  surrounded  by  the  apostles  and 
other  saints.  Underneath  are  the  archangels  blow- 
ing their  trumpets.  On  earth,  in  the  lowest  part  of 
the  picture  at  the  left,  the  dead  rise  from  their 
graves  and  ascend  through  the  air  to  the  Judge. 


Photo.  John  Andrew  & 

CENTRAL  FIGURES  OF  THE  LAST  JUDGMENT 
Sistine  Chapel,  Rome 


CENTRAL  FIGURES  IN  THE  LAST  JUDGMENT     89 

At  the  right,  opposite  the  ascending  dead,  are  the 
condemned  sinners,  descending  to  the  boat  which 
will  carry  them  over  the  river  Styx  into  the  Inferno. 

Our  illustration  gives  only  the  central  figures  in 
this  great  multitude,  the  Divine  Judge  accompanied 
by  his  mother.  He  is  a  man  of  mighty  muscular 
power,  young  and  handsome,  with  an  expression  of 
imperious  dignity.  Enthroned  on  the  clouds,  he 
seems  just  rising  from  a  sitting  posture  to  execute 
his  judgments.  He  lifts  his  arms  in  a  sweeping 
motion  as  if  to  part  the  multitudes  pressing  upon 
him  on  both  sides.  In  so  doing  he  shows  the  wound 
in  his  right  side  made  by  the  soldier's  spear  at  the 
crucifixion.  Neither  expression  nor  gesture  mani- 
fests anger ;  those  beautiful  hands  with  delicately 
extended  fingers  will  strike  no  blow.  The  gesture 
itself  is  a  command. 

Beneath  Christ's  upraised  arm,  on  his  right  side, 
sits  his  Mother  Mary.  Each  must  interpret  for 
himself  her  attitude  and  expression.  Some  think 
that  because  she  turns  her  face  away  she  is  shrink- 
ing from  her  son  in  terror.  Yet  her  expression  is  so 
gentle  that  others  say  she  is  nestling  close  to  him 
for  protection.  This  is  certainly  as  we  should  im- 
agine the  situation.  When  she  was  a  young  mother, 
she  was  proud  to  take  care  of  her  child.  And 
now  on  this  great  day  she  is  equally  proud  to  let 
him  take  care  of  her.  As  he  clung  to  her,  his 
mother,  so  she  now  clings  to  him,  the  Judge. 

Looking  at  the  composition  of  the  picture,  we 
see  that  her  figure  completes  a  pyramid,  whose  apex 


90  MICHELANGELO 

is  the  uplifted  hand  of  the  Judge,  and  whose  base 
lies  along  the  cloud  supporting  his  feet  and  hers. 
This  gives  proper  stability  to  the  figures  which 
dominate  the  whole  great  picture.  Considered  in 
a  larger  way,  the  pyramid  is  itself  the  upper  part 
of  a  long  oval  which  keeps  the  central  group  apart 
from  the  surrounding  host. 

The  picture  of  the  Last  Judgment  was  painted  by 
Michelangelo  on  the  end  wall  of  the  Sistine  Chapel, 
over  the  altar,  nearly  twenty  years  after  the  com- 
pletion of  the  ceiling  frescoes.  There  is  a  great  dif- 
ference between  the  two  works.  The  figures  on  the 
ceiling  are  strong  and  powerful,  their  attitudes 
spirited  and  graceful.  Those  in  the  Last  Judgment 
are  huge  and  cumbersome,  their  attitudes  strained 
and  violent.  The  entire  effect  of  the  vast  company 
of  colossal  figures  is  awe-inspiring,  but  not  pleasing. 

It  is  a  relief  to  fix  our  eyes  upon  the  central 
portion.  Here  the  painter  expressed  an  idea  at 
once  noble  and  original.  The  figure  of  the  Christ 
has  not  the  delicate  beauty  of  the  dead  Christ  in 
the  Pieta,  or  the  finished  elegance  of  the  Christ  Tri- 
umphant, but  he  has  the  splendid  vigor  of  a  force- 
ful character.  The  Mother,  less  grand  and  noble 
than  in  the  bereavement  of  the  Pieta,  less  proud 
than  in  her  young  motherhood,  is  a  gentle  and 
lovely  creature.  Thus  the  intensely  masculine  is 
completed  by  the  delicately  feminine,  and  the  artist 
shows  us  ideal  types  of  manhood  and  womanhood. 


XVI 

PORTRAIT 

In  the  pictures  of  this  collection  we  have  learned 
something  of  the  work  of  Michelangelo  as  a  sculptor 
and  a  painter.  He  was  an  artist  whose  personality 
was  so  strongly  impressed  upon  his  work  that  we 
have  come  thus  to  know,  to>  a  certain  extent,  the 
man  himself.  His,  as  we  have  seen,  was  not  a 
happy  nature,  and  many  of  the  circumstances  of  his 
life  conspired  against  his  happiness. 

In  his  early  youth  he  seemed  strangely  aware  of 
his  own  superior  gifts  and  was  often  so  overbearing 
that  he  made  enemies.  The  story  is  told  of  a  quar- 
rel he  had  with  a  young  man  named  Torrigiano,  in 
whose  company  he  was  copying  some  frescoes  in  a 
church  in  Florence.  Stung  by  some  tormenting 
words  of  Michelangelo,  Torrigiano  retaliated  with  a 
blow  of  the  fist,  which  crushed  his  companion's  nose, 
and  disfigured  him  for  life. 

Michelangelo's  real  education  began  in  the  palace 
of  Lorenzo  the  Magnificent,  who  discovered  the 
lad's  talent  and  made  him  a  favorite.  "  He  sat  at 
the  same  table  with  Ficino,  Pico,  and  Poliziano,  lis- 
tening to  dialogues  on  Plato,  and  drinking  in  the 
golden  poetry  of  Greece.  Greek  literature  and 
philosophy,  expounded  by  the  men  who  had  discov- 


92  MICHELANGELO 

ered  them,  first  moulded  his  mind  to  those  lofty- 
thoughts  which  it  became  the  task  of  his  life  to 
express  in  form.  At  the  same  time  he  heard  the 
preaching  of  Savonarola.  In  the  Duomo  and  the 
cloister  of  S.  Marco  another  portion  of  his  soul  was 
touched,  and  he  acquired  that  deep  religious  tone 
which  gives  its  majesty  and  terror  to  the  Sistine."  1 
In  the  gardens  of  S.  Marco  he  had  Lorenzo's  fine 
collection  of  antiquities  to  study,  and  learned  from 
them  the  secrets  of  Greek  sculpture. 

In  all  these  opportunities  it  would  seem  that 
Michelangelo  was  a  most  fortunate  person.  Nor 
did  he  lack  proper  appreciation ;  the  Pieta  placed 
him  at  once  on  a  pinnacle  of  fame,  and  the  David 
was  heartily  admired. 

It  was  when  he  entered  the  service  of  the  Pope 
that  his  troubles  began.  He  was  never  thereafter  a 
free  man.  His  genius  was  at  the  disposition  of  a 
series  of  men,  each  ambitious  for  his  own  fame, 
and  caring  little  for  the  artist's  personal  aspirations. 
His  proud  nature  was  bitterly  humiliated  by  this 
sacrifice  of  his  independence.  Sometimes  he  openly 
rebelled,  but  in  the  end  was  always  obliged  to  yield 
to  papal  authority. 

Michelangelo's  sternly  upright  spirit  found  also 
much  to  sadden  him  in  the  corruption  of  the  times. 
He  was  a  lover  of  righteousness  as  well  as  a  lover 
of  liberty,  and  he  greatly  mourned  the  evils  which 
surrounded  him. 

One  of  the  pleasantest  traits  in  his  character  was 

1  Symonds,  in  Renaissance  in  Italy :  The  Fine  Arts. 


PORTRAIT  93 

his  warm  affection  for  the  members  of  his  family 
and  for  the  few  whom  he  honored  with  his  friend- 
ship. One  of  the  latter  was  Vittoria  Colonna,  a 
woman  of  strong  and  beautiful  character,  who 
brought  much  brightness  into  his  life. 

Our  portrait  shows  him  somewhat  past  middle  life 
when  occupied  with  many  important  concerns.  We 
can  read  in  the  face  something  of  the  character  of 
the  man.  It  is  certainly  not  a  handsome  face,  for 
any  good  looks  he  might  once  have  boasted  were 
destroyed  by  his  broken  nose.  It  is  nevertheless  a 
face  full  of  rugged  strength,  with  not  a  little  kindli- 
ness in  the  expression.  Here  is  a  man  whose  enmity 
we  should  avoid,  but  whose  friendship  we  should 
value  above  rubies. 

It  is  the  face  of  a  lonely  man.  Michelangelo  had 
to  suffer  the  loneliness  of  genius.  No  one  could 
fully  understand  him.  He  stood  apart,  towering 
like  a  giant  above  his  fellow  men. 

On  the  four  hundredth  anniversary  of  Michelan- 
gelo's birthday,  some  verses  were  written  by  an 
American  poet,  Christopher  Cranch,  which  one 
should  read  while  looking  at  this  portrait :  — 

"  This  is  the  rugged  face 
Of  him  who  won  a  place 
Above  all  kings  and  lords; 
Whose  various  skill  and  power 
Left  Italy  a  dower 
No  numbers  can  compute,  no  tongue  translate  in  words. 

m  Patient  to  train  and  school 
His  genius  to  the  rule 
Art's  sternest  laws  required; 


94  MICHELANGELO 

Yet,  by  no  custom  chained, 
His  daring  hand  disdained 
The  academic  forms  by  tamer  souls  admired. 

"  In  his  interior  light 
Awoke  those  shapes  of  might 
Once  known  that  never  die; 
Forms  of  titanic  birth, 
The  elder  brood  of  earth, 
That  fill  the  mind  more  grandly  than  they  charm  the  eye. 

"  Yet  when  the  master  chose, 
Ideal  graces  rose 
Like  flowers  on  gnarled  boughs; 
For  he  was  nursed  and  fed 
At  beauty's  fountain  head 
And  to  the  goddess  pledged  his  earliest  warmest  vows." 

The  poet  describes  still  further  the  artist's  char- 
acter, and  then  enumerates  some  of  his  great  works. 
Whatever  occupied  him  — 

"  Still  proudly  poised,  he  stepped 
The  way  his  vision  swept, 
And  scorned  the  narrower  view. 
He  touched  with  glory  all 
That  pope  or  cardinal, 
With  lower  aim  than  his,  allotted  him  to  do. 


*  So  stood  this  Angelo 
Four  hundred  years  ago; 
So  grandly  still  he  stands, 
Mid  lesser  worlds  of  art, 
Colossal  and  apart, 
Like  Memnon  breathing  songs  across  the  desert  sands." 


PRONOUNCING  VOCABULARY  OF  PROPER  NAMES 
AND  FOREIGN  WORDS 


The  Diacritical  Marks  given  are  those  found  in  the  latest  edition  of  Webster's  Inter* 
national  Dictionary. 

EXPLANATION   OF  DIACRITICAL  MARKS. 

A  Dash  (")  above  the  vowel  denotes  the  long  sound,  as  in  fate,  eve,  time,  note,  use. 

A  Dash  and  a  Dot  (J")  above  the  vowel  denote  the  same  sound,  less  prolonged. 

A  Curve  (~)  above  the  vowel  denotes  the  short  sound,  as  in  $dd,  Snd,  Til,  5dd,  up. 

A  Dot  ( " )  above  the  vowel  a  denotes  the  obscure  sound  of  a  in  past,  abate,  AniSrici. 

A  Double  Dot  (")above  the  vowel  a  denotes  the  broad  sound  of  a  in  father,  alms. 

A  Double  Dot  (<#)  below  the  vowel  a  denotes  the  sound  of  a  in  ball. 

A  Wave  (~)  above  the  vowel  e  denotes  the  sound  of  e  in  her. 

A  Circumflex  Accent  (*)  above  the  vowel  o  denotes  the  sound  of  o  in  b6rn. 

£  sounds  like  s. 

•e  sounds  like  k. 

g  sounds  like  z. 

g  is  hard  as  in  get. 

g  is  soft  as  in  gem. 


Ado'ms. 

^Eneas  (e  ne'as) ;  ^Eneid  (S  ne'id). 

Am'azon. 

AnVbrose. 

An'athoth. 

Anchises  (an  kl'sez). 

An'no  Dom'inl. 

Apol'lo. 

Ap'pian. 

Arimathe'a. 

Babylon  (bab'i  lun) ;  Babylonian. 

BarbaroVsa. 

Bargel'lo. 

Beethoven  (ba/to  vun). 

Belshaz'zar. 

Beth'lehem. 

Beth-pe'or. 

Bramante  (bra  man'ta). 

Bugiardini  (boo  jar  de'n&). 

Buonarroti  (boo  &  nar  rot'e). 

Canaan  (ka^nan  or  ka'na  an). 
Carra/ra. 

Celano  (cha  la/no). 
Cencio,  Bernardo  (b8r  naVd&  chgn' 
ch&  6). 


Chaldean  (kal  de'an). 

Colonna,  Vittoria  (vet  to're  a,  ko  Ion'* 

na). 
Condivi  (k&n  de'veO. 
Cosinio  (k&'ze  mo). 
Cristo  Risorto  (kres'to  re  z$r/t6). 
Cumae  (ku'rae). 
Cyrus  (sl'rus). 

Daniel  (dan'yel  or  dan'i  el). 

Dan'te. 

Daphne  (daf'ne). 

Dari'tis. 

De'lian. 

Delphi  (del'ft). 

De'mos. 

Dies  Irse  (de'as  e'rl  or  dfez  Pre). 

Dionigi,  di  San  (de  san  de  5  ne'je). 

Domine,  quo  vadis  (do'me  na,  kwa 

wa/dis  or  dom'I  n§,  kwo  va'  dis). 
Doni,  Angelo  (an'ja  15  do'nS). 
Douay  (doo  a7). 
Duomo  (doo  o'mo). 

E'ros. 

Febbre,  della  (del'la  feVbra). 


96 


PRONOUNCING  VOCABULARY 


Ficino  (fe  ehe'no). 

Franciscan  (fran  sis'kan). 

Frizzi,  Federigo  (fa  da  re'gO  fret'se). 

Giovanni  (j6  van'ne). 
Giuliano  (joo  le  a'no). 
Goli'ath 
Gotti  (got'te). 
Gualfonda  (gwal  fon'da). 

Hellespont. 
Huguenot  (hu'ge  not). 

Infgr'no. 
Isaiah  (i  za'ya). 
Israel  (Iz'ra  el). 

Jameson  (ja'me  sun). 

Jehoi'akim. 

Jeremi'ah. 

Jerome  (38  rom'  or  jer'5m). 

Jeru'salem. 

Je'thro. 

Josl'ah. 

Judaea  (ju  de'a). 

Ju'dah. 

Ju'pitSr. 

Kugler  (kobg'ler). 

Laz'arus. 
Lean'dgr. 
Lom'bardg. 

Mag'dalene. 

Me  dian. 

Medici  (ma'de  che). 

Mem'non. 

Me'nB. 

Michelangelo  (me  kel  an'ja  lo). 

Mid'ian. 

Milan  (mil' an  or  mi  Ian'). 

Milanesi  (me  la  na'ze). 

Mo'ab. 

Morpheus  (mor'fus). 

Naz'areth. 

Ne'bo. 

Nebuchadnezzar  (neb  u  kad  nez'zar). 

Nemour  (ne  moor'). 

Ne'ro. 

Oliphant  (ol'i  fant). 

Palazzo  Vecchio  (pa  lat's&  vek'ke  6). 
PaTestine. 

Pater    Patriae     (pa'tar   pa'tre  I     or 
pa'ter  pa'tri  e). 


Pausanias  (pa  sa'ni  as). 

Pensiero,  II  (el  pen  s8  a'r6) ',  Pensie- 

roso  (pen  s8  a  ro'zo). 
Pharaoh  (fa'r6). 
Philis'tine. 
Piazza  della  Signoria  (pe  at'sa  del'la 

sen  yd  re 'a). 
Pico  (pe'ko). 
Pieta  (pe  a  ta'). 
Pietro  in  Vincoli  (pe  a'tr&  en  ven'- 

kdle). 
Pitti,  Bartolommeo  (bar  to  lorn  mao 

pet'te). 
Plato. 

Poliziano  (p6  let  se  a'no) 
pyth'I  a. 

Raphael  (ra/fa  el). 
Rucellai  (roo  chel  la'e). 

Sac'risty. 

Santarelli  (san  ta  rel'le). 

Savonarola  (sa  vo  na  ro'la).  _  f 

Scappuci,  Mario  (ma' re  6  skap  poo'- 
che). 

SeVtos. 

Sib'yl. 

Sim'eon. 

Sistine  (sis'ten). 

Solari,  Cristoforo  (kr£s  tof '&  r&  so- 
la're). 

Stabat  Mater  (sta'bat  ma'tgr  or  sta'- 
bat ma/tar). 

Strozzi,  Giovan  Battista  (j&  van'  bat- 
teVta  strot'se). 

Styx.   • 

Swin'burne. 

Sym'ondg. 

Tarquin  (tar'kwm). 

te'kel. 

terribilita  (ter  re  ber-le  ta/). 

Torrigiano  (tor  re  ja'no). 

Uffizi  (oaf  fet'se). 

Upharsin  (u  far'sin). 

Urbano,  Pietro  (pe  a'tro  obr  ba'no). 

Urbino  (oor  be' no). 

Varj  dei  Porcari,  Metello  (ma  tel'16 

va're  da'  e  por  ka're). 
Vasari  (va  sa're). 
Vatican  (vat'i  kan). 
Virgil  (ver'jll). 
Vul'gate. 

Zedekl'ah. 
Zephaniah  (zef  a  nl'a). 


TEXTBOOKS  IN  CITIZENSHIP 

GOVERNMENT  AND  POLITICS  IN  THE  UNITED 
STATES.    Problems  of  American  Democracy.    A 

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bert Clarke.   Riverside  Literature  Series,  No.  262     .        .       Cloth,  .52 

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